Final Fantasy 8
by HiddenXEmotion
Summary: Lucia Sirea was just a quiet girl, dragged into SeeD by her older sister against her will. The School wasn't that bad, it was more due to the fact of the students, AKA, Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy. Now she finds herself dragged into events that call for her to toughen up and protect those important to her. Question is, just WHO is important to her?
1. Opening and Characters

**_Opening and Characters_**

The checkered destinies of two men who repeatedly plunge their mighty souls into battle.

**As the forefront of a rising tide of violence **brought on by Galbadia's war declaration is a SeeD cadet named Squall Leonhart. Serious to a fault, Squall has earned himself the reputation of being a lone wolf. When the job of dealing with the Sorceress behind Galbadia's irrational hostility has fallen to SeeD and Squall, Squall's world is turned upside down as he learns thing he not only knew about his companions, but also things about himself that he has tried to hide for years.

**Squall Leonhart**

Age: 17

Height: 5'8'

DOB: August 23

Blood: AB

Weapon: Gunblade

Special Skill: Renzokuken

**The taciturn and reluctant hero**

A cadet in SeeD, the Special Combat Unit of the Balamb Garden Military Academy. His aloof and Anti-Social behavior makes him appear selfish and lacking a sense of team unity. Squall dislikes having others involved in his affairs, and is best described as a lone wolf.

**Lucia Sirea**

Age: 16

Height: 5'7'

DOB: October 25

Blood: A-

Weapon: Sword

Special Skill: Electric Shock

**A quiet girl unless around friends or angered**

A cadet in SeeD, she's been in the same classes with Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy since she joined and has grown used to, and tired, of their fool-hardy fighting. Though a powerful opponent, Lucia doesn't truly enjoy fighting. Her only reason to joining Garden is her older sister who is a teacher there.

**Laguna Loire**

Age: 27

Height: 5'9'

DOB: January 3

Blood: B

Weapon: Machine Gun

Special Skill: Desperado

**A passionate man whose pen is truly mightier that the sword**

An ex-soldier turned journalist, Laguna is a strong willed man with amazing energy. His compassion for the unfortunate drives him to help the weak and bring down their oppressors. Using his writing as a mighty instrument of justice, he stands strong against the evils of the world.

**Seifer Almasy**

Age: 18

Height: 6'2'

DOB: December 22

Blood: o

Weapon: Gunblade

Special Skill: Fire Cross

**Squall's Rival who causes havoc within Garden**

A candidate for SeeD. Although Seifer is a naturally gifted soldier, his ability to take orders and control his temper has earned him the label of 'problematic'. Although recognizing and praising Squall's abilities, Seifer regards him as his ultimate rival.

**Lurena Sirea**

Age: 20

Height: 5'9'

DOB: February 13

Blood: A-

Weapon: Sword

Special Skill: Wind Blade

**A caring woman protective of her younger sister**

A good friend of Quistis Trepe since they graduated together three years ago, Lurena's classes are said to be some of the toughest, and fun, classes in Garden. She takes care of her younger sister Lucia and seems to be the only one that can ever get Seifer Almasy to calm down and behave.

**Rinoa Heartilly**

Age: 17

Height: 5'3'

DOB: March 3

Blood: ?

Weapon: Blaster Edge

Special Skill: Combine (Angelo)

**A beautiful, spirited young woman**

A lively individual with the ability to touch people's hearts. Open and honest with her feelings, she speaks her mind without reservation. Driven by her ambitions, she can be difficult at times.

**Keiran Heartilly**

Age: 19

Height: 6'1'

DOB: April 6

Blood: B+

Weapon: Lance

Special Skill: Penetration

**A smart-aleck that can cause more trouble than Squall and Seifer together **

Though the oldest of the Heartilly children, he is the less responsible of the three. Refusing to stay under his father's figure any longer, Keiran ran off and joined Garden, his sister Rayna following him. Though a smart man, he is cocky and constantly butts heads with Seifer Almasy.

**Rayna Heartilly**

Age: 19

Height: 5'9'

DOB: April 6

Blood: B+

Weapon: Rapier

Special Skill: Sonic Thrust

**A caring spirit who hides a dark side**

Keiran's younger twin sister, Rayna often takes up the slack of what her brother doesn't do. Refusing to let her brother go off on his own, Rayna left their family and joined Garden with him. Seen as a book nerd to most, Rayna is the top student in Lurena's class and proud of it.

**Quistis Trepe**

Age: 18

Height: 5'6'

DOB: October 4

Blood: A

Weapon: Chain Whip

Special Skill: Blue Magic

**A top-notch member of SeeD who serves as Squall's instructor**

A SeeD cadet at the age of 15, Quistis now instructs Squall and his companions at Balamb Garden. Contrary to her cool exterior, she occasionally has a difficult time coping with frustration, and as a result can become depressed over trivial matters.

**Selphie Tilmitt**

Age: 17

Height: 5'1'

DOB: July 16

Blood: B

Weapon: Nunchaku

Special Skill: Slot

**A funky young woman with a carefree spirit**

Selphie seems out of place in a military academy because of her innocent appearance and light-hearted personality. Her happy-go-lucky disposition and laid back attitude tend to catch others off-guard.

**Zell Dincht**

Age: 17

Height: 5'5'

DOB: March 17

Blood: B

Weapon: Glove

Special Skill: Duel

**A Garden Cadet with unsurpassed Martial Arts Skills**

Aspiring to become like his grandfather who was once a soldier, Zell entered Garden at the age of 13. Not being one to think matters through, he is known to act of the impulse rather than reasoning. At heart, however, he is an honest, dedicated young man.

**Irvine Kinneas**

Age: 17

Height: 6'0'

DOB: November 24

Blood: A

Weapon: Gun

Special Skill: Shot

**An expert gunman and consummate lady's man**

Irvine is known as the 'Best shooter in Garden'. His reputation for cherishing the company of women is almost as well-known as his accuracy with a gun. Although he seems to be uncaring and frivolous at first glance, in reality he is sensitive and serious.

**Alena Mythal**

Age: 17

Height: 5'6'

DOB: May 9

Blood: A

Weapon: Rifle

Special Skill: Headshot

**The only female shooter in Garden**

As Irvine Kinneas' partner and rival, Alena is constant with his 'love for the ladies'. Ignoring it as best as she can, her love for guns can outrank even that. She trains to one day beat Irvine and claim the title of 'Best Shooter' but somehow she keeps losing to her partner.

**Edea**

Age: ?

Height: ?

DOB: ?

Blood: ?

Weapon: ?

Special Skill: Ice Strike

**A powerful Sorceress trying to bring havoc to the world**

Very little is known about Edea, other than the fact that she has inherited the Sorceress Power at some point in her life. She only recently appeared for the first time, and seemed to be working with Vinzer Deling, the Galbadian President. Her true intentions are unclear, but it seems unlikely that she will bring peace to the warring nation of Galbadia.

**Lucas**

Age: 28

Height: 6'4'

DOB: ?

Blood: ?

Weapon: ?

Special Skill: ?

**A man with secrets hidden behind many doors**

Just like Edea, little is known about this silent man other than he is always by the Sorceress' side, almost like her guard.


	2. Chapter 1

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter One**_

_**Balamb Garden**_

"**Wow! **Under 8 minutes! That's a new record!"

"I know, I know. Smother me in your love, ladies."

"Uh, no thanks."

"Yeah, sorry Keiran. You're not my type."

"You guys are no fun."

Lucia Sirea gave a laugh as her group headed back to Balamb Garden. They had just taken their trip to the Fire Cavern with Teacher Lurena. Lucia age 16 at 5'7' with long, pale brown hair and sea-green eyes was dressed in a pair of jeans, flat boots and a long-sleeved, white shirt with a black jacket on that held her family's crest on the back of it. There was a bracelet on her left wrist that held her weapon in place until she needed it.

Lurena, 20, was an older image of her sister Lucia. She just held her hair in a shorter cut as she reached the height of 5'8'. She was dressed in the School Instructor uniform.

Rayna Heartilly, 19, had short black hair and wore a pair of tan capris and a red tank top with a matching jacket around her waist. A pair of crystals hung from her ears as the tattoo of a phoenix rested on her right leg, just above her boots.

Keiran, Rayna's older twin, had short black hair as he dressed in a white jacket and a blue set of jeans as he hung a lance over his shoulder. A silver Knight Chess piece hung from his left ear.

"I am very proud of all three of you," Lurena told the students. "Especially you, Lucia." She hooked her arm around her sister's neck and rubbed her head.

"Get off," The younger girl pushed away, hiding a smile.

"Oh my God," Rayna's voice grabbed their attention and they turned to find the woman had gone off to the right a bit, running crazily.

Keiran took after her, the sister following. "What is it, Rayna?" Lurena demanded.

"It's a body!" She cried back.

"Is…is that Squall?" Lurena asked, sliding down to her knees beside the body in the field.

"Yeah, it is." Keiran growled.

Lucia paused behind her sister. Squall Leonhart. A silent, 17-year-old boy that sat beside her in class. Squall was 5'9' in height with unruly brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in his black leather bomber jacket with a fur trim on the collar and a white, V-neck shirt. With black pants and three, interconnecting belts with matching boots and gloves. There was a silver stud in his left ear and a silver chain with a Griever pendant and a matching ring.

There was now a wound across his face, looking like it had been made with a blade.

"Something tells me," Rayna frowned. "That Seifer was involved with this."

"And he just left him here?" Lurena asked.

"Sounds like Seifer for me." Keiran scowled. "Come on, let's take him back to Garden." The man picked the unconscious Squall up, carefully carrying him on his back. Lucia noticed Squall's Gunblade and licked it up, following after the others.

_**~I've tried playing it cool**_

_**Girl when I'm looking at you**_

_**I can't ever be brave**_

'_**Cause you make my heart race.~**_

"**Seifer Almasy!"**

Said man glanced up from his seat in the back of the class and found Lucia standing in front of him, an enraged look on her face. "What can I do for you, doll?"

Seifer had short blond hair, blue-green eyes, and a new wound against his forehead and nose. He wore a blue vest with a cross-like design lined in white, and a gray coat with the same design on the sleeves with black gloves and boots. There was also a silver tag around his neck.

She reached forward and grabbed his jacket, pulling him to his feet. Lucia was normally a quiet girl, sticking to her own business unless around friends, but when her anger took ahold of her, she had no control. "The next time that you decide to have a little sparing match, make sure you take your opponent to the Clinic if you knock him unconscious, got it? Don't leave him in the wild for food for the animals!"

"Ahh, you found Squall, huh?" Seifer shrugged. "I knew someone would; eventually."

Lucia pushed him away from her; he stumbled back and dropped back into his seat. She shot him another look as the bells rang and moved across the way to her normal seat. Seifer should have been happy that Keiran wasn't in their class; there would have been a fight.

The door opened and Squall walked in, Quistis right behind him. The Instructor was dressed in the SeeD Uniform with a pair of silver rimmed glasses with her long blonde hair tied up behind her head with a silver comb and two long fringes of hair on either side of her face. Squall, a bandage on his face, moved down the aisle and took his normal seat in the back beside Lucia.

"Good morning, class. Let's start with today's schedule." Quistis walked to her desk. "There seem to have been some rumors flying around since yesterday…yes; the field exam for SeeD candidates will begin later this afternoon." Everyone, but the three in the back of the class, began to talk to eachother. "Those not participating and those who failed last week's written test ware to remain here in study hall. Field exam participants will have free time until the exam. Just be sure you're in top condition. Meet in hall at 1600 hours. I'll announce the team assignment there. Any questions? Oh, and Seifer! Do NOT injure your partner while training. Be careful from now on." Seifer glanced over at Squall before slamming his hand on his desk. "Field exam participants, I will see you all later. And Squall, I need to talk to you."

Lucia waited for the room to empty. Seifer left, but Squall stayed seated. "Hey, how's your wound?"

Squall glanced at her. "…It's fine."

"Are you sure? It looked pretty bad. It might even leave a scar."

"How do you know?" He asked her.

"We did find you after all."

Squall looked at her again. "You found me?"

"Yeah," Lucia nodded, looking away bashfully. She didn't really ever talk to anyone in class. "I was with my sister and the Heartilly twins on our way back from the Fire Cavern when Rayna saw you." She frowned. "Keiran told me to tell you that he's take care of Seifer later if you wanted him to."

"Squall," Quistis interrupted. "You haven't been to the Fire Cavern yet, have you? You won't be able to take part in today's SeeD exam if you don't pass the prerequisite. Do you have a good excuse?"

Squall stayed silent and Lucia glanced a look at him, feeling sorry. "Actually," Quistis turned and looked at her; Squall peeked from the corner of his eye. "Squall was supposed to meet up with me and the others this morning to go with us to the Fire Cavern. My sister was with us to get us entrance but Seifer caught him before he could do so."

"Oh, so that's what you guys were doing out there when you found him," Quistis shook her head, thinking about Seifer's actions. "Come with me Squall. We'll go take care of it now while we still have time." She turned to leave. Squall stood to follow her.

"Good luck." Lucia told him. Squall stared at her for a moment before walking after the blonde. "Such a strange fellow." She told herself.

Lucia met up with Rayna and Keiran again for a quick lunch before they separated to change into their uniforms just to meet up with eachother again in the main hall of the Garden. Squall, Quistis, and Lurena were already there, waiting for them. Lucia paused on the way over, smiling at her classmate that stood in the hall, practicing his martial arts and getting pumped up for the exam.

"Zell. You ready?"

Zell Dincht was 17 at 5'5' in height with the sleeves of his uniform rolled up, with spiky blond hair, green eyes, and a large, black tribal tattoo on the left side of his face.

He turned to her with a smile and gave a thumbs-up. "You bet I am. Are you?"

Lucia turned back to her sister as the man joined them. "No, not really."

"All right," Lurena looked at the board in her hand. "Rayna, you're teamed up with Zell and your brother."

"Works for me." The blond man replied with a smile as Rayna laughed and Keiran crossed his arms.

"And Lucia, that leaves you under me with Squall and Seifer." Quistis told the young woman.

Lucia sighed as Squall glanced away. "I should have known."

"You don't like Seifer either, Lucia?" Zell asked his friend.

"He's just…too much." She sighed, hanging her head.

"You'll get used to him after a while." Lurena told her sister. "He's really not that bad, you guys. You just have to know how to handle him."

"That's easy," Rayna commented. "Coming from the only person that Seifer listens to."

"Seifer's a pain in the ass, through and through." Keiran folded his arms. "Just ignore him and he'll either leave you alone or get really pissed off and whoop your ass like he did to squall this morning."

"Keiran," Lucia moaned as Zell and Rayna chuckled.

"We weren't fighting," Squall argued. "We were training."

"I bet he doesn't think so," Zell commented.

"That's none of your business." Squall replied; he shot Quistis a look for mocking him as she laughed.

"That Seifer you're talking about is the Squad leader."

Lucia hung her head even lower as Keiran gave a laugh. "Boy, I feel sorry for you, Lucia. You're going to have to keep Squall-y and Seif-y here from fighting; think you can handle it?"

Lucia sighed as her sister rubbed her hair again. She looked at the blonde teacher. "Why do you do this to me?"

Quistis gave a smile. "It can't be changed."

"What can't be changed?" They all turned to see Seifer joining them, his two goons following him; like always.

"There he is," Lurena gave a smile. "Seifer, you're the Squad leader. Squall and Lucia are in your group. Good luck."

"Instructor," Seifer lifted a hand. "I hate it when people wish me luck. Save those words for a bad student that needs them, eh?"

The woman shook her head. "Just take care of my sister, got it?"

Seifer gave a cool smile. "Not a problem."

"Ok then." Quistis began, cutting them off. "Lurena's group, Rayna, Keiran, and Zell, are assigned to Squad C. As for my group, Seifer, Squall, and Lucia are Squad B. Teamwork is of the utmost importance. Let's get through this exam, everyone!"

"Listen up!" Seifer turned to his two member. "Teamwork means staying out of my way. It's a Squad B rule and don't you forget it. Fuijin and Raijin began to laugh.

"Ugh," Lucia hung her head even further.

"Everyone here?" They turned to find the elder man, Headmaster Cid, approaching them. The other Squads moved closer to hear what he had to say. "It's been a while, everyone. How's everyone doing? This Exam will Involve 15 members from Squads A through E…You will be proceeding to a real battlefield. Obviously, the battles are for real. Life and death, victory and defeat, honor and disgrace…each of these go hand in hand. There's only one way or the other. How 'bout it? Are you still up for it?" He glanced around the room. "You will be accompanied by 10 SeeD members. Should you fail, these members shall get the job done. They always do. Well, that's one less worry on your mind. The pride of Balamb Garden! The elite mercenary force, SeeD! Learn from them, obey their commands and accomplish the mission. Prove yourself worthy of becoming a member of SeeD. Best of luck."

The two groups stayed together and boarded the same ship as it took off into the water. Zell wanted to see Squall's Gunblade but he was refused and then Seifer decided to start calling the other blond a 'Chicken-wuss.'

"Do you have to be such an ass?" Rayna glared at the man across from her.

"Ahh, what's wrong, Rayna? The book nerd getting nervous before a fight?"

"Hey," Keiran had stood up, grabbing Seifer's jacket collar. "Don't make fun of my sister, dirt-bag."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Both of you, stop it." Lurena stood as the vehicle came to a stop. "Get out, now."

Lucia shook her head at all of them and happily jumped off the car first, stretching her legs as excitement for the Exam traveled through her body. If only her team members were people she liked.

"So that's the vessel?" Squall asked, looking at the ship waiting on them.

"Ain't no turning back now." Seifer commented. "You scared, too?" He asked the man beside him.

"Hey!" A Garden Staff called. "You guys are the last! Hurry up and get in!"

"Don't disappoint me, now." Seifer grinned, leading the way to the ship.

Lucia turned to her sister. "Do I really have to be on a Squad with them?"

"Sorry, Lu." Lurena smiled.

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Two**_

_**The Exam**_

"**All right," **Lucia told herself Xu, another SeeD member, began to go over the mission. "You can do this."

"Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. A request for SeeD was made 188 hours ago." She pulled up a map on the screen behind her. "Dollet has been under attack by the G-Army since about 72 hours ago. 49 hours into the battle, Dollet abandoned their position on the inner city. Currently, they have retreated into the rear by mountains and are reorganizing their troops. That's the current status. Now onto the mission objective. According to our reports, the G-Army is mopping up the Dollet troops in the mountain region. We're to make a landing at Lapin Beach. We're to eliminate the remaining G-Army within the city and liberate it A.S.A.P. Afterwards, SeeD members will intercept any G-Army forces trying to make their way into the city from the mountain region." She turned the screen off.

"So, what are WE supposed to do?" Seifer asked.

"SeeD candidates are to eliminate the G-Army inside the city." Xu answered.

"Sounds boding," He sighed. "So what you're saying is, we do all the little, dirty work."

She ignored his comment. "Oh, it hardly needs to be said, but the order to withdraw is top priority. Do not forget." Things fell silent for a moment until a radio went off.

"_We're almost there. Anticipate a battle as soon as we disembark. Just be prepared."_

Things grew silent again and Lucia excused herself to the top of the ship to get some fresh air. She stood there for a moment. She had seen Dollet before; it had been peaceful. Now you could see smoke and fire as the battle went on. Her eyes narrowed. She didn't like the thought of innocent townspeople getting hurt. As their ship crashed through the wall, she headed back down and followed her team out of the ship when it had landed on shore. Other teams were already heading out to do their own tasks but Squad B paused and turned to look at their Instructor before making a move.

"Okay," Quistis began. "You are to secure the Central Square."

"Let's move out," Seifer ordered.

With a nod, Lucia followed silently across the beach and towards the city. Mounting the stairs, they found themselves face to face with Kieran's Penetration skill as he took down a large robotic creation.

"And that's how it's done." The man grinned.

"Yeah, I could have done that." Zell told his friend.

"Don't start," Rayna told her teammates. "Let's just get this over with and drink tonight."

"Yeah! Now you're talking, Captain!" Both men smiled.

"Sorry, Squirt," Kieran told Zell. "But you're still underage."

"So are you!" Zell growled.

"Yeah, but I'm over 18 and I don't care what the others think. You're still only 17."

"Keiran, stop being an ass." Rayna told her brother.

"Good luck getting that to happen." Lucia told her friend.

The other girl gave a laugh. "I guess you're right." She glanced at the other group. "Where's your mark?"

"Central Square." Squall answered as Seifer stayed silent.

"Good. We're going right past there," Keiran continued to grin. "So you're just going to have to suffer, Seifer."

"Not going to bother me," the said-man snorted, stomping off into the city.

"Please, try not to piss him off today," Lucia begged Kieran. "I really don't want to have to deal with it. I deal with it in class more than enough."

Keiran gave his friend a wink. "I can't make any promises."

The group trudged along into the city together, passing other teams, until a group of men decided to attack.

"They're Dollet reinforcements?" Zell asked in shock as he saw their uniforms.

"I don't think so," Rayna shook her head.

"You think the Galbadians are dressed up like this?" Lucia questioned.

"Who cares?" Keiran pulled is lance out again. "They've attacked!"

Squall, Seifer, and Zell seemed to agree with that and ran forward with their attacks. Rayna and Lucia shared a look before turning back and watching the boys clear a path for them in the road, following them down it.

"Having fun yet?" Seifer teased her. Lucia frowned as another group of men attacked them in front of some restaurant.

The boys of the two groups continued to take care of the enemy so the girls just had to sit back and watch, talking to eachother about the ball that was going to happen tomorrow for the graduates. Lucia didn't want to go, but Rayna was trying to convince her into doing so.

"The Central Square is up ahead," Seifer finally announced. He then turned. "Hey! All you Galbadian cowards out here! Come out 'n show your faces! Don't leave me hanging, now!" He ran off ahead.

"…What an idiot." Zell shook his head.

"Yeah, that's nothing new to know, though." Keiran replied, running in to help with another fight.

"There may be more," Squall commented.

"Yep. And we gotta go off on our own now," Kieran grinned, giving a wave over his shoulder as he continued to walk further into the city. "Try not to lose without me here, all right you two? I know Lucia can take care of herself."

"Come say that again." Seifer growled, tightening his grip on his weapon.

Lucia gave a chuckle as Kieran went to do just that but Rayna grabbed her brother's ear, dragging him behind her.

"Later." Zell waved, following after the twins with a snigger himself.

With a sigh, Lucia turned to glance at Seifer.

"Well, we're on standby 'til the enemy comes." Seifer sighed. "Stand by…how boring…"

Taking a seat on the fountain ledge, Lucia cupped her chin in her palm before scratching the dog that had walked up to her behind the ears. Things were silent until explosions went off around the other places of the city; something told Lucia that Kieran was around at least one of them.

"Sounds like it's starting," Squall sighed.

"Bring it on." Seifer replied. "Get outta here!" He cried at the dog. "Scram!" Lucia shook her head as he called out to the enemy again. The dog came right back to her, begging her for more attention. The moon was high in the sky by the time any of them said anything else.

"Nothing." Squall sighed.

"I should have brought a book." Lucia mumbled. "I bet Rayna would have one to give to me."

"Still keeping us waiting?" Seifer growled. "That's it! I can't take it anymore! What is this, some kind of dog training?!"

The dog began to bark and growl, staring down the alley to the right. Lucia went to stand but Squall grabbed her, pulling her into a crouch beside him, hidden behind the fountain. Enemy soldiers moved past them.

"It's the enemy." Squall announced.

"Where are they going?" She wondered.

"Our next destination." Seifer grinned.

"What?" She stood up. "But that's against our orders! We can't leave our post, Seifer!"

"You're just as bored as I am, Lucia. Squall too, right?"

Squall turned from him. "I stand by the Captain's decision."

"…Captain's decision?" Seifer grinned. "You want to fight as much as I do."

"It's a good opportunity to test out my training. Thanks to you, I feel like I can take on anyone; even if they do fight dirty like you." Squall replied.

Seifer laughed. "You'll thank me when the time comes."

Lucia shook her head. "This is an exam, you two. We can't just run off and do what we want. We have to stick to our orders!"

"Then you stay here," Seifer told her. "If you're that scared."

She scowled at him. "After taking this exam multiple times, you would think that you would be smart enough to actually pass it once in your life."

Seifer's anger flared but Squall stepped in. "If we're gonna go, let's hurry."

Seifer turned. "The enemy is headed for the facility. We, Squad B, are to secure the summit. Move out!"

"All right."

Lucia crossed her arms with a frown. Seifer grinned and winked at her and took off. She bit her tongue, keeping herself silent as she continued to move after them across the bridge to the other side. Several wounded Dollet men were scattered around the cliff and the trio saved one of them from being eaten by a monster. Now that he was okay for the moment(help would come by after the battle was over) they moved on and crouched down behind the rocks, staring at the enemy as they stood outside the facility.

"The generator is up and running."

"No problem with the boosters!"

"…the hell they doing?" Seifer questioned.

"Cable disconnection confirmed! Beginning exchange process!"

"Roger."

"Repairs?" Squall wondered.

"Who cares," Seifer scoffed. "This must be your first real battle. You scared?"

Lucia crossed her arms. "No, not really. Just annoyed with the dup that I'm stuck with."

"I don't know," Squall shrugged. "I try not to think about it."

Seifer stepped forward. "I love battles. I fear nothing." He told them. "The way I look at it, as long as you make it out of a battle alive, you're one step closer to fulfilling your dream."

Squall looked surprised. "What!? Your dream?"

"You have on too, don't you?"

Squall turned away. "…Sorry, but I'm gonna pass on that subject."

"Lucia?" Seifer turned to her.

~A dream? What…what would that be?~ She asked herself. "That's personal." She replied.

"Aww, you guys are no fun." With a hand wave, Seifer ran down the rest of the path as the two of them stood there, thinking.

"There you are!" Glancing above them, they found a young woman their age in the SeeD uniform with brown hair and green eyes standing above them and waving. She then lost her footing and rolled down the ledge.

"Are you all right?" Lucia asked, helping her up.

She gave a wink. "I'm fine. Are you…Squad B?" She glanced at Squall. "I'm a messenger. Name's Selphie, from Squad A. The Squad Captain's Seifer, right? Where is he?" Both Lucia and Squall pointed off the ledge as Seifer called up to them from below.

"One of these days, I'm gonna tell ya 'bout my ROMANTIC dream!" He paused at the door before turning back to them. "It's all about Lurena!"

At her sister's name, Lucia jumped off of the cliff as Seifer ran into the facility and chased after him. Seifer jumped pas the set of guards inside and got onto the lift first, leaving the girl to take care of the enemy on her own with a laugh. She frowned.

Squall slowly led Selphie into the facility a few moments later and found the last guard falling as Lucia dropped her fists.

"Did he go up the elevator?" Squall asked.

"Yeah," She nodded. One of the men tried to crawl away but she gave him another sharp kick to the face.

"Hey! Squad B Captain!" Selphie cried out.

They followed Seifer up the lift and found themselves back outside on top of the facility. A man in red was working on something that looked like cables. They were trying to fix the facility? What the hell was going on?

"There, it's complete."

The 'floor' began to shake as it turned on. They watched as a large satellite dish sprouted out behind them, firing up at something.

Squall glared at the man in red. "What do you think you're doing?!"

The man turned, shocked to find someone else up here. "Huhhhh? Likewise, MISTER.! What do you think you're doing!? H-Hey! What happened to all the soldiers down below!?" His reply was silence with a look like he was an idiot. "WEDGE! Take care of these twerps!" Nothing happened and he frowned, glancing around. "W-Wedge?" He turned back to the three of them. "I, uh…Well, ah…I seem to be done here, so I'll just be on my…" He began to move towards the lift as Seifer rode up on it. Where in the hell had he been? "I-I'm leaving…Move it! Move! Move!"

Seifer moved forward, knocking the plate he was holding out of his hand. "Sorry to crash the party."

The man gave a cry. "Are you CRAZY!"

"Just shut UP!" Seifer growled, running forward to attack.

"Prepare for the worst, you brats!" He spat, lifting up his fists.

Selphie put this man down pretty quickly when she summoned Shiva so there really wasn't anything for them to worry about.

"Now," Selphie turned to Seifer. "Squad B Captain? S'cuse me! I have new orders!" Seifer turned to face her. "All SeeD members and SeeD candidates are to withdraw at 1900 hours. Assemble at the shore!"

"Withdraw!?" Seifer demanded, clear confusion on his face. "There are still enemies around!"

"I know," Selphie answered him. "But I'm just a messenger."

"An order to withdraw takes priority." Squall stepped in. "I don't want to miss the vessel." Lucia agreed and moved to step onto the lift.

"What time d'you say?" Seifer asked her.

"Like I said! All SeeD members and SeeD candidates are to withdraw at 1900 hours. Assemble at the shore!"

"1900 hours…We only have 30 minutes!" Seifer cried. "You got 30 mins to get down to the shore. Better run!" He took off, leaving them behind.

"How did I see that coming?" Lucia asked, shaking her head as Selphie told him to wait for them.

"Let's go," Squall told them as the lift came back up.

So, with a timer still in her mind, Lucia took lead and began to lead the way out of the city. But as they exited the facility, a huge machine, much like the one they saw Kieran take care of earlier that day, dropped down before them, cutting them off. With a hiss, she jumped back while knocking her bracelet on her wrist again. Her sword appeared back into her hand and she ran forward with blades of wind around it. When she hit the machine, the blades transferred over and occupied the machine.

"Come on!" She told the others. "We don't have time! We have to go!"

Selphie and Squall both seemed to agree and they all took off running but it was soon found that the machine could repair itself as it decided to chase after them. When it got too close, Lucia used her Wind Blade again but with each hit the machine seemed to be able to repair itself faster and faster.

"Dammit!" Selphie cried as they ran across the bridge with it behind them. "Just leave us alone!" The machine climbed on the building in the street way to make it through after them. Lucia couldn't help herself as a giggle escaped her lips as Selphie told the last remaining Squad to pull out. She could hear what Kieran would say right about this moment.

"_Damn Squall, this robot must have a thing for you."_

The moment she hit the shore, she saw Zell and Rayna entering their own ship and taking off, leaving their ship as the only one left. Selphie ran straight for it and Lucia followed her. She glanced back at the sound of collapsing and found Squall just feet away from being smushed as the Robot continued to crawl after him; it was getting closer. She pulled out her blade again and started to run back to help when gunshots went off. Glancing at the top of the ship, she found Quistis lending the helping hand and gave a thankful smile as she jumped onto the boat as it retreated. Squall was just moments behind her, grabbing the still open door of the ship. Lucia grabbed his arm, helping drag him up out of the water.

"Are you all right," She gasped as the door shut behind them.

He was panting just about as much as she was. "Y-Yeah…" He looked up at her. "Thank you."

She stared at him for a moment before nodding and standing up. She held her hand out to him. "Don't worry about it."

Squall took her hand as Selphie and Quistis both ran in. "Are you two okay?" Selphie demanded. "I was worried! I didn't know what to do! I-" She went on and on as Quistis gave a relieved sigh.

"What happened?" She asked them. "Where did that robot come from?"

Lucia told Quistis all that had happened. The Instructors lips tightened into a line as she shook her head. "You would think that he would learn. At least once!" She turned and left them; most likely to go find their 'captain'.

Lucia watched as Selphie calmed down and then gave a soft smile. "Not too bad of a job," She told her, holding out her hand. "Lucia Sirea and this is Squall Leonhart." The said man was silent, just watching them speak.

The other girl gave a smile. "Selphie Tilmitt; just transferred over from the Trabia Garden."

"I knew that I haven't seen you before." She smiled herself. "Whose class are you in?"

"Instructor Lurena's. I was told that it was the hardest in the Garden so I'm a little worried."

"Ahh, don't be. My sister's not that bad." Lucia told her. "Just pay attention and try NOT to sit beside Kieran Heartilly. Choose his sister Rayna instead; he talks too much."

Selphie gave a laugh. "Yes, I found that out yesterday." She thought for a moment. "So, if your sister is a teacher here, then just how old are you?"

"16," Lucia answered her. "My sister's 20. We're all pretty much in the late teens to the early twenties around our classes."

"I can see that." Selphie nodded. She glanced at Squall. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"Don't need to," He replied, glancing to the side. Normally Lucia didn't either, or he had never seen her do so. This was…different.

"You get used to him, Seifer, and Kieran pretty fast so don't worry too much about it," Lucia told her.

"I'll keep that in mind." The other teen replied as the doors opened again, revealing that they had returned to their side of the water. All three of them happily got off of the ship, Seifer following right behind them.

"Seifer!" They all turned to find Fujin and Raijin waiting on the man. "How'd it go?" Raijin asked.

"I'll tell you how it went," Lucia stomped forward and glared up at the taller figure before he could speak. "Your dumb-ass almost got us killed! We almost didn't make it back to the damn ship because you had to go off and play!"

"Yeah, but you're fine, are you not?" Seifer replied. "What are you gonna do? Complain to the Headmaster?"

"No," She placed a hand on her hip. "I'll just tell my sister."

Squall raised a brow as a worried look passed over Seifer's face. After all, everyone knew how protective Lurena was of her younger sister. If something bad were to happen to her…

"Now, there's no need to tell Lurena anything, all right? Let's just-"

"No need to tell me what?" At the voice, all of them turned to find that Lurena's ship had pulled up beside theirs, the Squad coming up next to them.

"Nothing," Seifer shot Lucia another look before his trio stalked off.

"Did I miss something?" The instructor tilted her head.

Zell shrugged. "Who knows with Seifer?"

"Good job!" Quistis grinned as she stepped off of their ship. She took a look at the three in front of her. "Where's Seifer?"

"The dickhead done run off," Kieran answered her.

The Instructor shook her head with a sigh. "Just be back at the Garden by sundown. You're free 'til then. Okay, dismissed."

"All right, let's go get something to eat," Kieran told them all. "After a night-long mission like that, I'm starving!"

Zell and Selphie seemed to agree with that…until they say the car they arrived in before drive off from the city.

"I really hate that guy." Kieran's eyebrow twitched as Seifer gave them a wave out the window.

"There goes Mr. Ego…" Zell hung his head.

"Might as well walk it." Squall told them.

"Hell no!" Kieran told the other teen. "I ain't going nowhere until we have something to eat! We got all day, man! Hang with us for a bit. You need to get out of your little square box for a bit, anyway."

"Square…box?" Squall asked him.

Selphie giggled. "Yeah, Squall. Walking around with us here for a little bit won't kill you. Relax. I'm sure we can find something here that you won't mind to do."

Lucia glanced back at Quistis and Lurena as they discussed everything that had happened. She caught sight of the angry look on her sisters face and knew that Quistis had told her about the robot on the ship and the events with their Squad. She turned immediately and began to lead the way. "Something to eat sounds really good right now."

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	4. Chapter 3

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Siblings**_

"**I really don't want to go."**

"Come on, Lucia." Rayna glanced at her roommate from her closet. "Have a little wild side. You just graduated. You're now a SeeD. Be proud and have fun."

~That's just it~ Lucia quietly sighed to herself. ~I only do this because of my sister…~

The group hung out at the city for a few hours; it actually turned out to be a lot more fun than Lucia had been expecting. Squall stayed his normal, silent self but he seemed to enjoy himself as well as Zell and Kieran joked around with eachother.

Everyone but Seifer had passed. Lucia felt a little sorry for the older teen but at the same time he should have known better.

"Here," Lucia looked up in time to see Rayna toss her the SeeD uniform.

"Do I really have to wear this?" She asked.

"Unfortunantly," Rayna sighed. "I understand how you feel." She paused for a moment. "You know what? No, you don't have to. Come here. I've got something else for you!"

Holding her hand over her face, Lucia fought the blush that fell over her face as Rayna pushed her into the ballroom. The music was nice and the talk was smooth but she still felt so out of place here.

"Lucia, you all right?"

The young teen turned to her sister's voice. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She then heard a whistle as Keiran and Zell walked up behind the three of them. "Damn, Lucia. Why don't you dress like that all the time?" the older man asked.

Lucia went to reply but Lurena beat her to it. "What was that, Kieran? You want me to gouge your eyes out with my nails?"

They all laughed as Kieran begged the teacher not to do anything to him. Rayna had placed Lucia in a pale blue dress with silver jewelry; it was quite the change compared to what she was normally dressed in.

As the event continued, everyone else looked like they were having so much fun. Lucia shook her head and leaned against a wall and just watched. She wasn't the only one that looked bored. Squall was on the other side of the room, doing exactly what she was. Zell tried to talk to him, as did Selphie, but Squall just wasn't in to it as he stood there, drinking from his glass. A small smile spread across her lips as she tilted her head back, gazing up at the stars for a moment. One shot across the night sky and she pushed herself off of the wall. She didn't want to stand there by herself so she began to make her way towards Squall but froze when another woman in a white dress approached him first. She looked strangely familiar.

Lucia watched as they talked for a moment, or rather SHE talked, and then raised a brow as Squall was dragged off onto the dance floor with the woman. A frown spread across her face

~Poor Squall~ She thought to herself as he was dragged onto the floor. She winced, noticing plainly that the Leonhart did NOT know how to dance. The girl tried to show him but it just wasn't working. He tried to move away but the woman in white grabbed him again and pulled him back. For some reason that made a fire build up in her blood and Lucia stomped onto the dance floor; she didn't hear the people behind her calling her name.

She moved right onto the dance floor and grabbed Squall's arm, yanking him away from the other woman. The woman and Squall both looked shocked as the others around them watched in confusion.

"If he doesn't want to dance, then don't force him to do it." Lucia told her.

"I-I'm sorry." The woman whispered.

Now that she was this close, Lucia now realized why this woman looked so familiar. "Hey, you look like-"

"Lucia, what are you doing?" They all turned to find the Heartilly twins behind them. "Is something…" Kieran's voice fell flat as he stared at the woman in white.

"Rinoa?" Rayna's voice was surprised.

"Keiran? Rayna? This was where you two have been?"

"You three know eachother?" Lucia demanded, looking between the three of them.

"Nope! What makes you think that?!" Rayna waved a hand nervously as she scratched the back of her head. Behind her, Kieran had grabbed the other woman and took off across the floor, leaving them behind. "Well, I gotta go. Have fun with the rest of the ball!"

Lucia tilted her head to the side, watching after them for a moment before hanging her head. "That made no sense at all." She told herself.

Fireworks went off above them and Lucia smiled, lifting her head to watch them. Squall stood there, watching her for a moment with a soft grin on his own face. "Lucia," He began quietly. "Thanks."

She looked back at him for a moment and gave a small wave. "Don't worry about it. I understand. I can't dance either. I know how embarrassing it would have been." She saw from the corner of her eye as the dancing continued and sighed. "You wanna get out of here?" She asked him. "I'd rather go watch a movie or train then dance here."

"Train? Really?" Squall asked her in shock.

"Is that so strange?" She smiled. "I suppose for a girl it would be, huh?" Lucia looked back at him. "Shall we change and meet in front of the Training Centre?"

Squall nodded his head. "Sure."

It didn't take too long for her to change and she found herself standing outside the Training Centre, waiting on Squall to show up. ~What am I doing?~ Lucia asked herself as she stood there, waiting. ~I don't do stuff like this, and especially not with people who annoy me!~ She was surprising herself. Squall and Seifer were the two biggest annoyances to her in the entire Academy, next to Kieran, and she was going to go train with him. Maybe the drinks were getting to her head, or maybe she was just going through a wild-streak tonight. She had graduated after all. Maybe she had taken to her sister's words and decided to 'live a little' for the night before she got her first assignment. This might be the last time she truly associated with Squall and the others.

The footsteps behind her made her turn to find Squall behind her in his normal attire. She grinned, happy that he had actually shown up. She had feared that she was going to get bailed on. "Ready?"

He gave a small smile. "Yeah."

The plants were easy to take care of and they stacked up on magic to use in future battles. Lucia actually found herself having fun. Squall was actually talking himself; this was the most she had ever heard his voice as they conversed about their battle tactics and tried moves that went together. Lucia might not have wanted to be in SeeD but she did enjoy fighting. That's one of the few things that she and her sister had in common.

When they reached the halfway mark, they entered the side balcony for a moment of rest they found several people already there; they were on romantic circumstances, though.

"I wondered where you had disappeared to,"

Kieran, jumping slightly, turned to find Lucia and Squall standing behind him and Quistis. He gave a smirk. "Yeah, and I didn't expect you two to be together either."

"Please," Lucia waved a hand. Squall's reply was "Just training."

"Here's a question," Lucia began. "Who was that woman that you and your sister ran off with and where are they now?"

"Don't worry about that," Kieran told her. "Just something that's not important enough to worry your head about."

Lucia stared at him for a moment before glancing at Quistis. "So, teach, what are you doing here?"

Quistis gave a sad grin as she scratched the back of her head. "You don't have to call me teacher anymore, Lucia. I have currently been pulled from teaching and placed back onto missions."

"What? But why?"

"I'm apparently too young."

"But you're only a year or two younger than my sister!"

"I'm not too clear with the details, Lucia." The blonde told her sadly.

"I…I'm sorry." Lucia folded her hands together.

"Don't worry about it." Quistis replied.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Kieran told them, breaking the talk and leading the way.

The four of them were heading back to the exit, Squall had returned to his silent shell now that Quistis and Kieran had joined them, leaving Lucia to talk to them instead.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed," Kieran covered a yawn.

"A bath and then bed," Quistis replied, stretching out her arms. "Or maybe something to eat, t-" A cry for help cut her off. They all paused for a second before taking off without a second thought. Not too far away, a young woman in white and blue was being attacked by a set of Raldos and a huge Granaldo. She saw them and a look of relief passed over her face.

"Squall! Quisty! Lucia!"

Lucia and Quisty exchanged a look. ~Do we know her?~ The monsters were down in moments, telling the four of them that they were stronger that the enemies in the center when they were trying to save someone.

"Are you all right?" Kieran asked the woman as she fell to her knees. He went to step forward but two men jumped down out of nowhere and blocked his path.

"It's not safe here," One of them told her. "Please, let's go."

"All right." She sighed. They helped her to her feet before leading her way. She turned to say something but they halted her.

"Who was that?" Quistis wondered.

"Who knows?" Kieran shrugged. "And who cares. Let's go."

They were all going to head for bed; Quistis left them for her own place, leaving the trio to head for the barracks in silence.

"Finally! There you are!" They watched as Rayna and Zell approached them. "Where the hell were the three of you? We were lookin' all over the place!

"You were?" Lucia tilted her head. "Why?"

"We're all members of SeeD now, right? Guess what that means!" Rayna giggled happily.

"We got our own rooms, baby!" Zell cheered. He passed out keys and numbers. "Catch ya'll later!" He took off down the hall.

"Gotta admire that energy." Rayna sighed.

"Not really." Squall replied.

"That's just 'cause you're a sourpuss." Kieran told him.

Lucia wasn't up for that this evening and so she left them behind, heading towards her new room with Rayna right behind her.

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	5. Chapter 4

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Siblings, 2**_

"**Lucia, Lucia, get up."**

The half-asleep teen lifted her head off of the pillow. "Rayna?" She turned and looked at the clock on her table. "It's four in the morning."

"I know," the woman sighed. "Get dressed. Keiran wants us downstairs. He said to hurry."

Lucia took note of the worried feel that was emanating off of her friend. It knocked all the sleep off of her and she was dressed in minutes, dragging a comb through her hair as they headed towards the front of the Gardens. Keiran stood there, waiting on them, a strange look on his face. "What's going on?" Lucia asked.

He turned to them and gave a smile. "We're going on a little trip."

"A trip?" She raised a brow. "What about school?"

"The Headmaster already knows," The man told her. "So let's hurry up and get this underway." Keiran began to move and his sister followed him without a word.

"Where are we going?" Lucia asked, moving to catch up.

"Timber."

Timber? Why were they going there? The journey to the Balamb train station was like a walk down death row. Neither Rayna nor Keiran wanted to talk and she blamed it on still being tired but Lucia knew better. Especially when they boarded the train. Lucia was getting a bad feeling about this. She wasn't stupid. It wasn't hard to figure out that Keiran was lying, especially when he told her not to be seen. But why was he lying to her? Rayna had to be in on it; the twins did everything together. For them to lie, to her of all people, it had to be pretty important. But still, she was their friend. All they had to do was ask. She was sure that they would give her an explanation sooner or later, she just had to wait."

They stayed in their room for most of the train ride until Keiran decided to go and wait the last ten minutes down at the exit to be the first ones off. Lucia followed the twins in silence before a chance glance inside a door to her right made her stop. She almost couldn't believe it. "Squall?" She shoved the door open and ran inside, Rayna behind her. Keiran frowned before walking in after them.

Zell, Selphie, and Squall were all strung out around the room, sleeping. Lucia wouldn't have worried it Squall hadn't been face first on the floor. Keiran picked him up and set him on the empty spot of the couch before glancing over all three of them.

"What the hell did they do last night?" He asked, scratching his head.

"Probably got drunk at the party." Rayna replied. "Then again, they were with us, weren't they?"

"Hmm," Selphie's eyes were slowly opening and Rayna jumped on her, asking questions. Zell wasn't too far behind her. Apparently both of them all just started to feel funny before falling asleep. Squall must have gone through the same thing.

"_Next stop, Timber…Timber…" _The radio went off.

"About damn time," Keiran sighed, leaning back on the couch.

"Yeah, it sure did take a while," Zell commented. Rayna gave him a small smile. He was still a little shaken but he was trying to be strong.

At sound of movement behind her, Lucia turned to see that Squall was finally moving again as well. She gave a silent breath of relief.

"Were we…all asleep?" Squall asked, glancing around.

"It looked like it," Lucia answered him. "I thought something was wrong, with all of you strung out on the floor like you were."

"Maybe someone released some sleeping gas?" Zell suggested. "There's lots of people who resent SeeD."

"True, but who knows we're with SeeD unless someone runs their mouth?" Keiran pointed out.

"Still, better be careful all the same." Rayna told her brother.

"Am I missing anything?" Selphie asked. "Anyone hurt?"

Everyone looked around the room and checked themselves. "…I don't think so." Squall finally answered.

"What a relief!" The woman in yellow smiled. "Everything's cool with me!" She moved over and sat back down on the couch beside Lucia. "Hee! I had such a nice dream!"

"_We will be arriving in Timber shortly. For those getting off, please be sure you have all your belongings."_

"Really," Keiran didn't truly seem interested.

"Yeah! Sir Laguna was sooo cool!"

"Laguna?" Lucia raised a brow. "What kind of name is that?"

Zell replied first. "Hey! There was a Laguna in my dream, too! He's a Galbadian soldier, right!?"

"Laguna, Kiros, and Ward…" Squall slowly said.

"Huh? That's it!" Zell cried.

"That's what?" Squall asked him. Lucia shared a look with the twins.

"There's no way we can understand this…" Selphie shook her head. "Let's just concentrate on our first mission!"

"We'll put this incident on hold," Squall nodded. "I'll report it to the headmaster once we get back to Garden."

"Yeah, sure. Tell the old man that all three of you passed out and had a kooky dream about soldiers? What did they do, give you a strip tease?" Keiran asked, crossing his arms. "I always knew you were gay, but I never thought you dreamed about men, Squall-y."

The Gunblademan glared at the other man. "What are the three of you doing here, anyway?"

"That's…" Rayna silenced Lucia with a look.

"We're just going on a little break before we get our first mission," Keiran told Squall, crossing his arms. "It's got nothing to do with you so keep your nose out of it."

"Actually," Rayna looked at her brother. "I might have something to do with them."

That seemed to annoy Keiran even more. "Dammit!"

"What's going on here?" Zell asked Lucia.

She shook her head. "I have no idea. I'm more in the dark than you are."

The train slowed down to a stop and Lucia was the first out of the room, searching for safety. Keiran and Squall were going to kill themselves sooner or later. The six of them were the only ones that go off the train and Keiran wasted no time before approaching a man in yellow.

The man shook his head. "Oh, the forests of Timber sure have changed!"

Squall opened his mouth to reply but Keiran beat him to it. "But the Owls are still around."

They all turned to look at Rayna. She scratched her arm uncomfortably. "We'll explain everything later." Lucia shrugged as Keiran, Squall, and the new man spoke before following them onto a smaller, different train.

"So, you guys are SeeDs?" A man in blue, Zone, asked.

"I'm the squad leader, Squall. This is Zell, and Selphie."

"Nice to meet ya. I'm the leader of the Forest Owls." He held his hand out for Squall to take but it was ignored. Lucia had to resist to rolling her eyes. ~Such a jerk~ She sighed. Zone glanced the three over again before turning to the remaining trio. "We only paid for three, why are there six?"

Keiran gave a snort. "We're here for different reasons. Now, tell me, where is Rinoa?"

Both men froze and looked at Keiran suspiciously. "How do you know her?" Zone asked.

"I'm not answering any questions until you bring the brat out here, so go get her!" Keiran's voice was spiked with anger.

"It's the princess' naptime, sir." Watts, the second man, replied.

"Princess?" Rayna's voice sounded enraged. "You call her Princess?" Lucia watched as the older woman went off in a different language; most likely curses.

"Oh, I bet she loves that." Keiran frowned, crossing his arms again. "I don't care, though. Either you go get her, or I will."

Zone looked at Squall, getting the feeling that it would be better to send him than Keiran. "She's in last room up those stairs. Some of our other guys are in the room on the way. Ask 'em if you get lost.

Squall frowned. "…Were we hired to run errands?"

Zone jumped back. "A-are you angry!?"

"I'm not going to wait much longer!" Keiran growled, taking a step towards the stairs.

"God, just go get the stupid kid!" Lucia cried, shoving Squall towards the stairs. He stumbled and shot a look over his shoulder at her before disappearing down the hall. "Jesus, it's like pulling teeth!"

"Rayna, what's wrong?" Zell asked the other woman. Selphie and him hand pinned Rayna between them and a wall, trying to calm her down.

"Did this Rinoa steal something from you?"

Rayna turned her face away from them. "I…I don't want to talk about it."

Lucia frowned, biting down on her right index finger. Rinoa…why did that name sound familiar? And what had she done to the twins to make them like this? It must have been something…bad. Very bad.

At the footsteps behind them, Lucia turned to face the woman that Squall had brought back with him.

"Oh my god." Lucia's eyes narrowed. "It's you."

It was the woman from the party that had been trying to get Squall to dance with her. Rinoa had black hair that reached past her shoulders with three caramel highlights on both sides of her face and dark brown eyes. She was now wearing a long, sleeveless, blue rib-knit duster sweater that has a pair of white wing designs on the back and matching rib-knit arm warmers, a black tank top, a denim button-up skirt, a black ribbon on her left arm, and black bike shorts that have zippers going down the front and a pair of silver buckled black boots.

It all clicked. Keiran had grabbed this woman and ran off with her from the dance. He must have been trying to get her to leave.

"Keiran! Rayna!" the woman cried happily. "You came!" She went to go hug the man but he held his hand out, stopping her.

"We didn't come to make nice, Rinoa." Keiran told her.

The girl hung her head with a frown, kicking at the floor. "I know…I just…"

Lucia raised her brows. As she looked closer, Rinoa looked a lot like a younger Rayna. A little too much. It clicked in her head. "No," She shook her head. "Are you serious?"

Rayna didn't look at her as Zell raised a brow. "What is it?"

"I believe…" Lucia looked at Keiran. "That you owe me an explanation."

"Yeah, yeah I do." The man sighed.

"What am I missing here?" Selphie asked.

It seemed that Squall had put everything together, too. "It appears that the twins have a younger sister."

"A sister?" Zell and Selphie cried together.

Lucia stared at the three of them. They did look a lot alike. What in the world had happened to put this barrier between Rinoa and older siblings?

"This is Rinoa Heartilly," Rayna began. "She's our younger sister. When we found her at the party last night we took her away for an explanation. She told us, and Headmaster Cid, about the mission. We offered to go but Cid refused to let us go since we were family. So we grabbed Lucia this morning and left before anyone could know."

"You could have told me," Lucia told the twins. "I would have come. You just could have asked."

"It was a spur of the moment thing," Keiran told her with a pained look on her face."

"I don't care," Squall shook his head, turning to look at Zone. "Just tell us what we're here for."

"Follow me," The man nodded. They moved into the next room and everyone gathered around the table. Lucia stared at the train models as Zone spoke.

"This is a full-scale operation. Our resistance, 'The Forest Owls', will be forever known in the pages of Timber's independence! Exciting, huh?"

"Not really." Rayna replied, leaning down to get a better look at the trains herself. Normally she wouldn't be so…mean but apparently she didn't like being here.

"It all started when we got a hold of top-secret info from Galbadia. There's a VIP from Galbadia coming to Timber. The guy's name is Vinzer Deling! Our arch-enemy, and the President of Galbadia."

Rinoa stepped in. "President Deling is taking a private train from the Galbadian capital."

"Our plan is to…"

"Blow it to smithereens with a rocket launcher?" Selphie guessed.

"Ahh…not quite…" Zone said nervously.

"So get to the point!" Zell cried. "Just tell us what to do!"

"Shall we begin?" Rinoa asked.

Rinoa began to tell them that they were going to, basically, kidnap the President's train. Squall and his Squad were given orders. Rinoa turned to Keiran to give him a set but he cut her off.

"The three of us will stay right here until we're needed." The eldest Heartilly told the others.

"But-" Zone began but Rinoa cut him off.

"Listen to what my brother says."

Zone kicked at the floor.

Lucia sighed. "If this is all it was, why did I have to come with you guys? I much rather stayed behind at the Garden."

Rayna gave a small smile. "Well, we're a team, Lucia. The two of us going off on our own without you just would have felt…strange."

Lucia thought she was going to cry. To hear that someone thought so much of her…

"Be sure not to get caught, Squall," Keiran told the man as the second Squad turned to leave. "I don't want to have to come and save you."

"Be careful!" Rayna called after them with a wave.

"Don't worry," Zell gave her a thumbs-up. "I'll be just fine!"

Lucia gave a smile at the light flush on her friend's cheeks. "So, would it be too much to ask why you two don't like your sister?"

Keiran frowned, glaring out the window. "It's all from the past. I tried to forget it all, but it seems that it's still in the back of my mind. Every time I think about her or father, I…" He closed his eyes, turning his head away.

~What had happened~

"I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind." Rayna softly told her friend, sitting down on the couch behind her.

"All right." Lucia turned to the wall behind her and began to read the posters and notes pinned there. She didn't keep track of how long that were in that room and they were silent until they felt a tug towards the back. "I guess that means we got the rooms, huh?"

"I guess it does." Keiran nodded. "Good. The sooner it's all done the sooner we can go back home."

And then, before anyone else could say something, there was a new man in the room. He hadn't opened a door. There was no window for him to slide through and he had not been in the room to begin with. He was just…there.

"What the hell!?" Keiran cried as Rayna jumped up from the couch.

The man did nothing but turn his head and take in the room around him. Lucia took this chance to look at him. He looked to be in his late 20's and at the height of 6'4' this man was huge, and not with fat. Every inch of his was muscle. Dressed in a pair of black, leather pants and barefooted, the man wore nothing else but a long black jacket with silver lining and gloves. On the back of his jacket was the design on a dragon in silver and blue. A long, thin scar was running vertically across his firm body as he wore his dark hair pulled back into a low tail that reached nearly to his waist.

The man finally turned is head to take the trio in. "Is one of you Lucia Sirea?" He asked the two girls.

Rayna narrowed her eyes. "And if one of us is?"

The man smiled and looked at Lucia. She was frozen by his sharp, green eyes. They seemed to…glow, almost. "So then, it must be you." Lucia felt panic run through her as the man turned to face them fully. She was expecting an attack but instead all he did was hold out a hand. "I ask you to come with me, madam."

"Go…go with you?" Lucia asked. She suddenly felt lightheaded. What did this man want with her?

"She's not going anywhere, pal!" Keiran growled. He ran forward to kick him put the man didn't even flinch, didn't even seem to notice, as the foot landed on the side of his face. He was intently staring at Lucia, his hand still held out to her.

"I-I don't think so," Lucia told him.

He frowned. "I see," He dropped his head and turned in time to grab Keiran's foot as he attacked again. He gave a little flick with his finger against the other man's face and Keiran shot backwards, smashing against the back of the train. Rayna was given the same result, this time with just a poke. "My Lady does not like to be kept waiting," His sharp gaze was back on Lucia, taking a step closer to her. Lucia stepped back. He was going to take another step forward but he paused, tilting his head to the side as he removed his gaze. Lucia watched as the man closed his eyes. She blinked. He was gone again. Was that just some kind of dream?

"Dammit!" Keiran punched the floor. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! How? Who was that guy?"

Well, that answered that questions.

The 16-year-old began to shake. He had been after her. Why? What had she done?

"Let's keep this between ourselves," Rayna slowly said. "The others don't need to know about this."

"Yeah…" Lucia nodded.

Keiran grabbed her by the shoulders. "Don't worry, Lucia. If that punk even thinks of coming back, he's not going to get his hands on you, got it?"

Lucia nodded her head, balling her fists from shaking. That man…there was just something about him. The strength that he had radiating off of him from just a mere look…

Rayna turned from the door. "The others are back." Keiran and his sister went to go talk to the others but Lucia stayed in this room, trying to calm herself down. When she finally stepped out of the room, the Forest Owls had gone off to do their own thing, leaving the SeeD by themselves for a moment. Immediately, Squall's sharp eyes landed on her but she pushed that away.

"How did it go?"

"Perfect, of course." Selphie smiled. "We're about to go question the president. Wanna come with?"

"Sure," She smiled. "How about you guys?" She asked the twins.

"Yeah, I'll come." Keiran nodded, that angry look still on his face. It wasn't every day that 'The Keiran Heartilly' got his ass handed to him in just a mere number of seconds.

"Nah," Rayna shook her head. "I think I'm gonna just go find something to eat in the back."

"I think I'll join you in that," Zell smiled, folding his arms behind his head.

~Now that I think about it,~ Lucia began as she watched the two of them walk down the hall. ~Zell and Rayna do spend an awful a lot of time together.~

"Come on," Selphie grabbed Lucia's hand and dragged her behind her after Rinoa and into the President's compartment.

"…President Deling!" Rinoa cried out, stopping behind the man sitting there. "As long as you…don't resist, you won't get hurt…" Keiran slapped a hand over his face, mumbling under his breath of his sister being an idiot.

"And if I do resist…What would you do…? You lady?" Deling asked.

"It's not her you have to worry about," Keiran told him.

Rinoa leaned forward to get a better look before backing away from the man.

"What's wrong?" Squall asked.

Deling stood up. "Boo-hoo…Too bad…I'm not the president. I'm what they call…a body double. All these rumors about the many resistance groups in Timber…you pass along a little false information and they fall for it…How pathetic…Seems like there are only amateurs around here."

Rinoa placed her hands on her hips angrily. "Amateurs!?"

"Ahh…My butt hurts from all this sitting…young LADY!" He began to bend over like he was in pain. Selphie and Lucia exchanged a look. "Ahh…So what did you have in store for me had I resisted…? Why don't you tell me…? Quite amusing though…for being such amateurs! How dare you insult the President!"

The Fake President turned out to be a Gerogero in disguise but with Squall and Keiran working together he was gone in moments and they all trumped back to the plan room.

"Man, I can't believe that the President was a fake!" Zone groaned.

"I can't believe we fell for it!" Rinoa agreed.

Watts ran into the room, claiming he had new info. "I found out the real reason why the president's here, sir! The President's going to the TV Station! Security's really tight, sir!"

"The TV Station?" Rayna thought for a moment. "Is there one in Galbadia? Why come all the way to Timber?"

Selphie turned to Squall and Lucia. "Do you think the Dollet communication tower has anything to do with this?"

"What's that?" Zone asked.

"Dollet has a communication tower that can transmit and receive radio waves." Squall told him. "It had been abandoned for a long time, but the Galbadian Army got it up and running yesterday."

"Ohhhh…I get it…" Zone nodded. "The only TV Station that can handle broadcasts over the air is in Timber."

"It makes sense," Lucia folded her hands together. "If they broadcast in Timber they could send the waves to Dollet too and then send it all over the world. But what is he broadcasting that's so important?"

Selphie slapped her fist into her other hand. "Everybody! Love! And Peace!" She was ignored.

(Totally thought of Vash the Stampede at this moment, XDXD)

"If I remember correctly," Zone continued. "Radio waves haven't been used in 17 years."

"It's been that long?" Rinoa asked. Then an idea hit her. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if the first broadcast could be the declaration of Timber's independence!?"

"Hey! That might be possible!" Zone agreed.

"Let's come up with a plan then!" The woman smiled and then the three of them went to a corner to talk.

Keiran stared at them with a disbelieving look on his face before he squeezed the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "When can I go back home?"

Rayna laughed at her brother. "Patience, Keiran."

"Lucia," the woman turned to find Squall behind her.

"Yeah?"

"What happened?"

She froze. "What do you mean?"

"When we returned, you looked scared." Squall told her. "Did Keiran do something to you?"

"No, Keiran didn't do anything to me." Lucia told him. "Nothing happened. I'm fine." ~Why do you care?~ Was what she wanted to say but Squall seemed to accept the answer. He gave her another blank stare and then turned back at Rinoa's voice.

"All right, we've got a plan!" Rinoa smiled happily.

"Before we get into that, can I see your contract with our Garden?" Squall asked her.

"Oh, sure." She pulled it out and handed it to him.

"What's it say?" Zell asked, moving over.

Lucia glanced over his shoulder as he spoke. "Balamb Garden)hereafter referred to as Party A) acknowledges The Forest Owls (hereafter referred to as Party B) as the hiring party. SeeD (hereafter referred to as Party C) shall be dispatched upon signing of this contract. Party C shall operate under the supervision…"

"…The hell…?" Zell asked, backing up a step.

"I don't get it." Selphie frowned.

"Oh yeah, that one's pretty confusing," Rinoa took it back. "When I told him I didn't understand, he gave me a different one."

"Oh lord," Lucia sighed. "Are you all idiots?" She asked them. "It means that you three have to continue to work for the Forest Owls until their goal is reached!"

"And just how long is that going to be?" Squall looked at Rinoa.

"Until Timber achieves independence." She smiled.

Keiran's face broke out into anger. "Are you fuckin' serious!?" Rinoa looked at her brother. "SeeD isn't some damn babysitter, Rinoa! We could be needed somewhere important and here we are, wasting our time with your stupid-ass game!"

"You can leave," Squall told him. "You're not on this mission, remember?"

"What, and leave my sister here in your hands? No thank you. Seifer might be dumb but I'm not!"

"Jesus, you're like little kids," Rayna told them both. "Rinoa's paid for it, I'm sure, or else Cid wouldn't have sent you three in the first place."

"Well, I'm not leaving yet until Rinoa's out of the Garden for good!" Keiran crossed his arms.

Lucia tilted her head to the side. What in the world had happened for Keiran and Rayna to hate their sister so much?

"Okay," Rinoa acted like she hadn't heard her brother's comment. "Let's decided on the parties!" Watts ran off and Zone began to complain over his stomach again. "So, of the seven of us, the ones who'll be heading to the TV Station will be…me, Squall, Rayna, and Lucia." Keiran frowned but didn't say a word after Rayna gave him a look.

"Be careful." Selphie told them. "If you need help just call us."

"Yeah, we're gonna go look around Timber," Zell told them. "Come on, Keiran. Let's go get something to eat."

"Not a bad idea, actually," the older man smiled.

Rayna watched them walk off and shook her head. "You gotta love my brother."

"Maybe just a little." Lucia looked at Rinoa. "Lead the way."

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	6. Chapter 5

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Little Flower**_

**Everyone followed Rinoa in silence, not truly wanted to talk as they made their way through the city. **They talked to locals around the area before being attacked by some Galbadian soldiers outside of the pub before finally heading towards the TV Station through a back alley after learning that there was too many guards around the president. Lucia didn't like any of this; or maybe it was still the feeling that she had due to that man on the train. He had come looking for her. What had he wanted?

"So we can't just rush in," Rinoa commented, thinking. "We've gotta come up with a new plan now! If the president leaves, maybe the guards will be gone, too? That's when we do OUR broadcast. It might not be as influential but it's better than nothing, right? We don't stand a chance if we take 'em head on, right?"

"Don't worry about us." Squall told her. "We'll fight your enemies based on your decision. That's our duty."

"You tell us to do it, we will." Rayna agreed. "Even if it is a losing battle."

"How sad…" Rinoa hung her head. "Act on my decision? That's your duty? Oh, what an easy life it must be, just to follow orders…you weren't like this, Rayna, and neither was Keiran."

"Yeah, well, it's better than what we would have done!" Rayna's voice wasn't loud, but it was sharp and cold.

Lucia put a stop to this now. "Doesn't matter what you think. Let's just get on with finishing this mission. I doubt you'll be helpful, though."

Rinoa glared at her. "Say that to my face!"

Lucia, narrowing her eyes, took a step forward to reply but Squall cut her off. "Let's just get this over with."

"No, she started it, so let her finish it!" Rinoa growled.

Lucia just glared at the other woman and crossed her arms before turning away.

Squall decided to answer her. "How serious are you? Really? The three of you plop down on the floor to discuss strategy? On top of that, you can't make a decision without our input, right? How do you think we feel, working for such an organization?" Lucia had to hide a smirk. He was being blunt, but it was something that Rinoa needed to hear.

The said woman hung her head. "You know…maybe this was all a big mistake. I thought everything would work out fine once SeeD came to help us," She turned from them. "But I guess it's not that easy. You were all hired. It's not like you're once of us. Um, let's see…we'll cancel the plan and we'll disperse for now. We don't stand a chance if we take 'em head on, right? So…you guys probably think this s all a game to us, well, it's not! We're serious! So serious, it hurts!" They all watched as Rinoa ran off.

"Are you sure that's your sister?" Lucia asked.

Rayna stayed silent, staring after the running woman; she turned again when the screen began to shudder. "Are they starting?" She asked.

"Looks like it." Squall nodded.

They all watched as the podium the president would speak at came into view and the people moved across the screen until the president came forward.

"_Greetings, I am Vinzer Deling, Lifelong President of Galbadia. Today, I stand before you to make the following proposition. We the people of this world have the power to end all wars."_

"A peace proposal?" Lucia asked aloud, surprised.

"_Unfortunantly, there are some trifling problems standing between Galbadia and other nations, and they must be resolved. I plan to convene with other nations' leaders immediately to resolved these problems. At this time, allow me to introduce the ambassador who will be my representative for the conference. The ambassador is the Sorceress…"_

"The Sorceress?" Squall repeated.

At that moment, believe it or not, Seifer popped up on the screen, raising havoc before grabbing the President captive. Quistis popped up moments later, warning the guards to stay back.

"What are we going to do?" Lucia asked.

Squall closed his eyes. "Nothing. We're here to assist the Owls. It is none of our business."

Lucia opened her mouth to argue but Quistis beat her to it.

"_Timber team, are you watching? Get over here right now~! You HAVE permission! I need your help!"_

"Well, there goes that," Rayna sighed, turning to lead the way down the bridge to the TV Station.

Squall followed after her but Lucia stayed there, watching as the Screen faded out again. Seifer and Quistis were both here, did that mean her sister was as well? She should have known that her sister would come looking for her when she learned that she wasn't in her room that morning. Why hadn't she thought about that beforehand?

"And here is the little rabbit, lost in the fox's den."

Lucia froze at the voice, recognizing it from earlier that morning. She turned slowly. There he was again, that man from the train. He looked even more ominous with that half-smirk on his face as the wind blew his tied hair around behind his head. "You again."

"It must be fate, Lucia Sirea," The man told her. He lifted his right hand into the air and she watched, in amazement, as a red rose appeared in his hand. "To run into you twice in one day. I am pleased to know that I am right."

"Right?" She used all her strength to not shake. "Right about what?"

"About you, little flower." His hand was huge but he held the rose carefully, smiling as he gazed at the red petals. "She will soon learn that I am always right." His deep blue eyes lifted to her face and Lucia found herself staring into large pools of pain and sadness. Something had happened to this man, and something bad. But what? What had he gone through?

"What do you want with me?" She asked him. Her voice trembled a bit. This man, his size alone, made her scared.

"You will be the one to save us all, little flower," The rose disappeared from his hand before he held it out to her much like he had on the train. "I ask you to come with me."

"Come with you where?"

"You need not worry. I will protect you from anything."

At his words, Lucia felt her trembling come to an unexplainable halt. She could feel…truth in his words. She envisioned herself in those strong arms for a moment, them bulging and firm as he held her against his skin. She lifted a finger and traced down the scar on his chest.

~Whoa!~ She cried to herself, blushing as she yanked herself from her thoughts. ~You're reading too many romance novels,~

"What is your name?" She asked him, trying to return her face to normal.

He smiled at her again; the look on his face refused to let her blush and beating heart calm down. "You may call me Lucas, little flower."

"Lucas," She tried the name on her tongue. "What is it that you need me for? Why me? I am not the strongest. I am not the smartest. Why me?"

"Precisely," She blinked. He was no longer standing before her but behind her, his lips only moments away from her ear. His warm breath sent a shiver down her back as Goosebumps popped up everywhere. "You don't know anything about what you hold, little flower. And we intend to fix that."

"We?" She asked him. She froze again as one of his arms slid around her waist, the other around her neck as he moved to speak in her other ear.

"All you have to do is trust me, little flower. Nothing will harm you." Suddenly, a strange feeling settled in her stomach. It wasn't one she had felt before and it made her nervous. She pulled away from him, surprised when he let her go. He still wore that smile on his face. "It is natural to be unsure and cautious, but eventually, you will agree to come with me. One way or another."

She firmed her face. That was a threat but he said it so casually. She wasn't going to take it. Lifted her hands, she knocked the bracelet against her wrist and light spiraled in her hands, forming her sword. "My apologies, Lucas, but I must decline your offer."

Lucas smiled. "You call yourself not a warrior. You claim you do not like to be a part of Garden," Lucia stared at him in shock. How had he known that? "Yet here you are, holding your blade at me. I believe that you don't even know yourself, Lucia Sirea," His eyes had grown hard. "And perhaps I should show you the answer that you are looking for." He began to step towards her. "You stand there, ready to fight me even after what you witnessed on the train with your friends. That man, Keiran Heartilly, yes? The strongest cadet in SeeD and even he could do nothing to me." He loomed over the 16-year-old like a mountain. "What do you believe you can do?"

Her knees shook. The man was right. What could she possibly do? Keiran had been thrown aside with a mere flick to the forehead. This man could rip her apart in seconds.

Suddenly, she felt the wind beginning to get rough. She knew what that meant and jumped out of the side in seconds, watched as a blade-like wind rushed past her, hitting Lucas fully in the chest. She turned to the left, her face with a smile as relief flooded through her.

"Lurena!"

Lucia's older sister, her own blade in her hand, ran forward with a firm glare on her face as she placed herself in front of her sister. "Are you all right? Did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine."

"And so the older sister makes her entrance," Lucas' voice was full of laughter. "Too bad."

Lucia was shocked. Her sister was strong, but her attack had done nothing other than shove the man a few inches back along the bridge. You couldn't even tell that the attack had hit him. This man…he was a monster.

"You will refrain from addressing my sister again." Lurena growled.

Lucas threw his head back with a laugh but didn't move forward. "I'm afraid that our talk has come to a conclusion again, little flower. Again, until next time."

And he was gone. Again. Did he not like to fight? Or was he just toying with her? What was going on? It made no sense to her!

Lurena's hug brought her sister from her thoughts. "Thank god you're all right!" she cried. "When you weren't in your room, I feared the worst!"

"How did you know where I was?" Lucia asked her.

Lurena pulled back, her sword returning to the bracelet she wore on her arm. Lucia's did the same. "Squall called me."

Lucia pulled a surprised face. "Squall?"

"Yes, he called me over an hour ago. Said that something had happened to you when he and the others were trying to kidnap the President."

"Squall was…worried about me?" She sounded confused. "Why would he be worried?"

Lurena glanced at where the man had been standing. "Who was that, Lucia?"

Her sister blinked. "He said his name was Lucas."

"And what did he want with you?"

"He…he wanted me to go with him."

"Go where?"

"He wouldn't tell me," She shook her head. "But this is twice in the same day. On the train, when Squall had gone off with the others, he appeared on the train and asked me to come with him there, too. Keiran and Rayna were with me there and attacked him. He…he swatted them away like flies, Lurena!"

Lurena stared at the fear on her sister's face as she tried to hide it. She pulled her against her. "Don't worry, Lucia. He won't get his hands on you. Not while I'm here."

Lucia closed her eyes. "What are you doing here, Lurena? Do you know about Seifer and Quistis being here too?"

"Yes, I saw the video. I was on my way there as well but when I saw you with that man…" She didn't need to continue. She pulled back and looked at her sister. "What are you doing her, Lucia? And Keiran and Rayna? Why did you leave and come after Squall and the others?"

"When Rayna woke me up this morning, I didn't know what we were doing, not until we met up with Squall and Zell and Selphie on the train. It turns out that Keiran and Rayna are the older siblings to Rinoa. She was the one that hired Squall and the others to help the Owls."

"She's their sister?" Lurena sounded surprised.

"Yeah, but not very happy. Something…I think that something happened before the twins joined Garden. They both seem to hate Rinoa…to despise her. Keiran just wanted to hurry and get her mission done with so that Rinoa would be forced from their lives again."

"It explains his actions at the dance when he saw Rinoa, then." Lurena nodded. "But why?"

"They won't talk about it." Lucia sighed. "Maybe you can talk to them about it."

"Perhaps. But right now, we need to-" Lurena turned as the bridge began to vibrate. Squall and the others were running towards them. Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, and Keiran had apparently joined up with them

"What happened?" Lurena asked. "Where's Seifer?"

"We'll explain later! Now just run!"

They followed Rinoa to some woman's house to hide for a bit. The Owls base had been found and destroyed but no one was hurt. They were ordered by Rinoa to take her somewhere safe so in the end, Galbadia Garden was decided upon. Lurena had grabbed Rayna and Keiran and dragged them upstairs to talk to them, probably scold her students for taking her sister and then running from Garden. Things were silent before the trio joined them back downstairs.

"I still don't get is," Selphie began since no one else wanted to talk. "What did Seifer come here for?"

"I think…" Rinoa began. "He came to help us, the 'Forest Owls'. I talked about it a lot with him. So please…don't think too badly of him."

Lucia frowned and looked at Quistis. "Who left first? Lurena or Seifer?"

"Well, Lurena did," The blonde answered. "But I-"

"Then there's your answer to what he was doing. My sister was coming to drag me back home and Seifer wanted to come with her. You all know how he can be. Perhaps he thought that doing the Owls' job would get it done faster."

"I can believe that," Keiran snorted. "After all, Seifer would do anything to keep 'teacher' happy."

Lurena blushed. "Be quiet."

Lucia found herself glancing at Squall as the said man stared out the kitchen window. He had called Lurena, worried about what had happened to her on the train. He hadn't even been there, so it must have been the look on her face. She apparently hadn't hid it well, but why would he care? Could she just ask him that?

Soldiers began to bang on the door and the large group was shoved up stairs for the moments. Lucia took a seat on the bed, Rayna and Lurena joining her.

Quistis looked at Lurena and Lucia. "He was so angry when he found out you had left early that morning and then you followed after her, Lurena. Especially because you didn't say anything to him about it. 'What?! She could get hurt going off by herself! Dammit! I'm going after her!' He was also worried about the three of you," She told Squall. "With you just being Rookie members. I never would have guessed he was serious about it."

"I guess Seifer's not such a bad guy after all," Selphie smiled.

"What's going to happen to him, though?" Rayna wondered. "He went with that woman."

"He may be already dead," Squall replied.

"Don't say that!" Lucia hissed, glancing at her sister.

"No, he's right," Lurena nodded. Going with that strange woman could have resulted in his death."

"How can you be so casual?" Rinoa asked them. "I feel…sorry for him." Squall turned away, chuckling. The woman jumped to her feet. "What's so funny!? You're terrible!"

"Rinoa," Keiran was chuckling himself. "Settle down. If you knew Seifer like we do, then you would understand why it's funny."

"The president of Galbadia and the Sorceress joined forces." Zell finally decided to join in. "And with Seifer attacking the President, it's no surprise that Seifer may have been killed because of it."

"Even so!" Rinoa stomped a foot. "I still hope he's alive."

"You're not the only one, Rinoa." Rayna hissed at her sister. "We're not just heartless monsters, you know, no matter what you may think."

"Let's not do this here," Keiran told his sister. "Not in front of everyone."

The woman of the house seemed to agree and joined them in the room.

"The Galbadian forces are withdrawing. Only the soldiers normally stationed here will stick around." The mother told them. "If you're gonna leave town, now's your chance! You know how persistent those soldiers can be!"

"Good idea." Zell nodded. "Let's get out of here."

"Well, we can't have nine of us running around together," Keiran began. "We need to split up into two groups and meet back up at the Garden."

"Split up?" Selphie frowned. "Will that be safe?"

"Two packs is a lot safer than one huge one," Lurena nodded. "Don't worry, Quistis will be with one, I with the other in case something happens."

"But who will the groups be?" Rayna asked.

In the end, Quistis would take Squall, Zell, Selphie, and Rinoa on a train to the East Academy before leading them through a Forest to the Garden. Lurena would take Lucia, Keiran, and Rayna through another trail so they weren't caught together, just in case. As they parted ways, Rayna looked at her brother in confusion.

"Why did you want to come with Lurena so bad? Not to say you're not cool, teach, but still, he was kinda psycho."

"I'm not stupid, you know," Keiran grinned. "We all know that teach hates trains. So, tell me, where's your car?"

Lurena laughed as she lead them out of the city and to a car near a set of trees. "You're smart today, Keiran. I wasn't going to pay to park inside the city, either."

"Should have known about that. No wonder you got here so fast." Lucia gave a laugh of her own as Rayna rolled her eyes at her brother. "Should have seen that come, you lazy bum."

"Here, you drive," Lurena tossed the keys to Keiran. "I'm sure that Lucia and your sister need to sleep after being up so early this morning."

"Hey, I need to too, you know!" Kieran replied. "Why don't I get a nap?"

"Because you're the one that got the two of them into this," Lurena growled at her student. "So do it!"

Kieran grumbled before sliding into the car. Rayna took the front seat, leaving the sisters to the back. Lucia was tired, but every time she closed her eyes she found Lucas haunting her. She shivered. Lurena grabbed her baby sister and pulled her against her, like she had when they were younger. Lurena held the mother role over Lucia, letting a calm feeling chase off any thoughts about that man as the teen faded off into slumber.

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	7. Chapter 6

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Galbadia Garden**_

**Lucia had a dream about a man named Laguna that night. **It instantly made her think about what Selphie and Zell and Squall had talked about on the train the day before, but it couldn't have been the same, could it? Highly impossible but it seemed that a lot of things that seemed impossible had been happening a lot lately. This was getting to be a bit too much but something told her that it was just going to get worse and worse.

They were waiting for Squall and the others to join them before entering the Garden and it only took about half an hour, believe it or not. Quistis wasted no times in greetings and charged straight in.

Galbadia Garden was much different than Balamb but it held a little something to it that made Lucia feel like she was home. The ex-teacher led them to the opening and then left them there while she and Lurena went to speak to the headmaster.

"So, what do you guys wanna do?" Keiran asked.

"Go look around, of course!" Selphie grabbed Rayna and Lucia's arm, dragging the two women after her through the Garden. Keiran gave a laugh as the rest of them just followed. The large group was actually quite entertained with this new structure that was different than their own Garden so investigating went down without a problem until an announcement sounded, saying that the SeeD Parties from Balamb Garden were to wait in the 2nd Floor Reception room.

It wasn't hard to find that after asking a nearby guy for a little help.

"Oh, check out the sofas!" Zell sounded relieved and plopped down, pleased to be off his feet.

Lucia chuckled as the others in Squall's group did the same; except Squall himself. He stood off in a corner, the furthest away from the others that he could be. Something had been bothering her since her sister showed up to save her from Lucas. She walked over to him quietly.

"Squall, are you all right?" He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes before turning his gaze back to the window. "Don't you want to sit down like the others? I'm sure that walk through the forest did a number on you as well." He stayed silent, ignoring her. She gave a sigh and hung her head. ~Asshole~ She growled. ~Why am I even trying to be nice…Oh yeah, that's why.~

"Squall, I want to thank you for calling my sister. If she hadn't of showed up when she did…I don't know what he would have done to me."

That caught his attention; Squall turned to look at her. "He?" He frowned. "Someone attacked you?"

"I wouldn't say attacked; not yet, anyway. He kept me back after you and Rayna ran off to help Quistis. That's why I wasn't there."

He stared hard into her eyes. "Was he what happened on the train?"

Lucia stared at him for a moment before turning to look out the window herself. She must have looked pretty frightened to have Squall, of all people, worried about her. "Yes."

"What did he want with you?" He asked. She was silent for a moment, thinking on what to tell him and also why he would care. "Lucia?"

Before she could answer him, Quistis and Lurena entered the room. They both turned from the window to face them.

"So, what happened?" Keiran asked, pulling his feet off of the table.

"They understand our situation." Quistis answered him. She then smiled at Zell. "And Balamb Garden is safe." The blond man looked relieved.

"The attack on the president in Timber was classified as an independent action," Lurena informed them. "There was an official notice from the Galbadian government saying that Balamb Garden is not being held responsible."

"So, Seifer's taking all the blame?" Zell asked.

Lurena turned her head as Quistis answered him. "The trial's over, and the sentence has been carried out…"

Lucia pulled a horrified look as she glanced between her sister and the other teacher. "You don't mean that…that Seifer was executed, do you? I mean, yeah he's a jerk, but they can't just kill him! They can't!"

"Of course they can," Rinoa was crouched on the floor. "He attacked the President."

"Dammit!" Keiran growled. He began to pace around the room. "Seifer, you idiot! You didn't have to jump in! We had control of it, you idiot!"

Rayna stayed silent as Selphie sat beside her, doing the same. Lucia said nothing else, just holding onto her sister's hand now; Lurena was trembling. She didn't want to hear them talk about him anymore but there was already memories and talks of revenge floating around the room.

"Can we not talk about it, please?" Lucia demanded, her voice rough as she glared at them.

Zell frowned, looking at her sister. "I'm sorry, Lure-"

"I won't have it!" Squall then burst out.

"W-what?" Everyone looked at him in shock. He was normally quiet.

"Are you MAD?" Selphie asked.

Squall hurried to the door. "I'm not having anyone talk about me in the past tense!" And out the door he ran. Lucia hung her head and Keiran stood up with a sigh.

"I'll be right back." He told them. The older man walked out of the door and found Squall moving down the hall, head hanging. He shook his head with a sad smile. "Squall, wait up a second."

"I don't want to talk." His cold voice replied as he continued to move.

"Good." The younger man said not a word but paused his steps for a second. "Because I'm not here to talk." He moved on ahead of Squall, his face set. "Come with me. We're gonna go outside."

"Outside?" Squall asked, moving after him.

"Yep. We're gonna go beat the hell out of eachother." Squall didn't say a word to that, but he followed Keiran without a falter. Keiran grinned. Whenever a man was in a bad mood always offer up a spar; it'll win every time.

"Yo! Squall! Keiran!"

They both paused and turned to find a man hurrying up to them, Fujin right behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Squall asked.

"What am I doin'? I'm a messenger, ya know?" The other man laughed. "Brought you a new order from Headmaster Cid, ya know?"

Fujin looked at Keiran. "Anger."

"Yeah," Raijin laughed. "Cid's pissed at you and your sister and Lucia, Keiran. You might wanna lay low for a while."

"That old man doesn't scare me." Keiran shrugged. "I did what I had to do; that'll never change."

Squall blinked. "What kind of order?"

"Don't know. Gave it to the head honcho here. Just did what Headmaster Cid wanted, ya know?"

"EXPLAIN." Fujin stared at him.

"We were supposed'ta go to Timber," Raijin explained. "But the trains have all stopped, so we had no other choice but to come here. Kinda relieved to see you guys here."

Fujin glanced around. "Seifer?"

"Oh yeah! Wasn't Seifer with you?"

Keiran didn't say a word, leaving it all to Squall. "I believe Seifer may be dead…" Fujin clutched to her chest and Raijin's smile fell. "I heard he was tried in Galbadia and then executed."

"LIES!" The woman cried.

"That's gotta be a lie, ya know!?" The two of them didn't want to believe it. "There's no way he'd put up with a trial, ya know!? Or an execution for that matter! It's just not Seifer, ya know!?"

"Find!" Fujin said.

"O'what…! We're gonna meet up with Seifer? Well, see ya guys. We're gonna head off to Galbadia to look for Seifer."

Keiran gave a sad smile as the duo ran past them. "Hope you find him," He whispered; more to himself than anything. Squall closed his eyes as another announcement went off, calling them to the front gates of the Garden. Neither of them spoke as they waited there for the others to show up.

"Is she all right?" Keiran asked Rayna. Both of them glanced at Lurena as she stood off to the side of the area, silent as her sister stood there with her.

"Would you be all right?" His sister snorted. "She's not talking to anyone about it; I know our friend so I'm sure that she's blaming herself for it."

"Blaming herself? Why would she do that?"

"Quistis told us that Seifer only came out to Timber because Lurena had run of to find Lucia and the two of us. If she hadn't of done that then he most likely wouldn't have either."

"Then it's our fault as much as it is her's." Keiran crossed his arms; he caught sight of a huge yellow can riding up towards them. "If we would have told her first then she wouldn't have been worried about us." He shook his head, watching as the Headmaster walked towards them. "Nothing we can do about it now, though." All the SeeD members saluted the man; Rinoa quickly followed suit.

"Good day," Martine greeted them. "I have official orders from Headmaster Cid addressed to you. Following regulations, I have gone over these orders. After careful consideration of our options, we have decided to fully assist and cooperate with Headmaster Cid. Actually, we too, have been planning for this for quite some time now. In order to stress the importance of this mission, I must first brief you on the current situation." He paused in his pacing and glanced at all of them. "At ease." Everyone fell into regular standing. "You all know about the sorceress being appointed as the peace ambassador for the Galbadian government. However, this ambassador thing is just a cover up. There will be no peace talks, only threats. The sorceress creates fear among people. Therefore, peace talks are impossible. Galbadia is planning to use this fear to negotiate favorable conditions for itself. It is clear that Galbadia's ultimate goal is world domination. Garden is no exception, either. It is a fact that the sorceress is planning to use this Garden as her base…we have very few options available to us. We entrust world peace and the future to you." They all gave salutes again. "Details of the mission are enclosed in these official orders." He moved forward and handing the file to Squall. "Any questions?"

Squall glanced up. "The orders say by the means of 'a sniper'. We have no one with that skill."

Martine smiled and packed up. "Don't worry about it. Let me introduce a pair of elite sharpshooters from Galbadia Garden." He turned to the patch of grass to their left. "Kinneas! Mythal!"  
Lucia turned her head to follow the man's gaze. Two people, a man and a woman, sat there in the grass, as if waiting to be called upon. The man was laying on his back, his leg crossed over the other as he fake-shot a butterfly from the tip of his finger. He then stood and turned to give them a good look of his face. He was tall, 6'0', with his auburn hair in a long ponytail and blue eyes. He was wearing a black cowboy hat with a purple shirt beneath a tan long jacket, black fingerless gloves, and brown chaps over black pants. He held a shotgun over his left shoulder.

The girl had been sitting not too far away from her partner, her back against a short wall with a bored expression on her face. Her hair was a white-blond that reached only to her shoulders and her eyes were a brisk violet. Dressed in a pair of jean cut-off shorts and black, bottomless boots, she reached the height of 5'6' with a loose, black tank top, a white jacket hanging around her hips as a rifle was hanging on her back; a handgun was on her left thigh.

"This is Irvine Kinneas and Alena Mythal. Together they will be your sharpshooters." Irvine gave them all a look while Alena seemed not to care. "Leave whenever you're ready." He turned to walk away but turned back. "Which of you are the Sirea sisters and the twins?"

"Not very hard to figure that out," Keiran crossed his arms.

Martine frowned. "You four have different orders. You are supposed to return to Balamb Garden."

"Return?" Rayna sounded surprised. "But why?"

"We left without permission," Lucia answered with a dull voice. "Of course he'd want us back. We're to receive punishment, I'm sure."

"Indeed." Martine turned and left them there.

"Man, I don't want to go back; not after what happened." Keiran frowned.

"We have to follow orders," Lurena's voice was firm. "The four of us will be heading back while the others go on with their mission."

"I won't argue." Lucia said quietly, glancing away from the others.

"But…" Rayna began.

"Don't worry," Zell smiled. "We'll be back in no time."

"Looks like we're with you rubes from Balamb," Irvine grinned, grabbing Squall's attention. "Greetings." Zell frowned at him. "You cool with us helping you?"

"That depends on your attitude," Squall replied, glancing at the new woman; she didn't seem to notice.

Irvine continued to grin. "I say things that get a ride out of some people. Just don't let it bother you and we'll get along fine."

"I'll remember that." Squall nodded.

"Besides, it's my partner you should be worried about," The man chuckled. "She can get a rise out of anyone."

Keiran sighed. "Rinoa's still involved," He whispered to his sister as the others began to talk about the mission they were on. "I'm not about to let her go off with Squall and the others."

"It doesn't concern us anymore," She told her brother. "We shouldn't get involved anymore without further orders. Squall and the others can take care of themselves; Quistis will be with them now, remember?" That seemed to just make it worse.

"This is no ordinary mission," Squall was saying. "It's a direct order from both Balamb and Galbadia Garden. "We're to…assassinate the sorceress."

Rayna closed her eyes. The Sorceress was that woman that had taken Seifer with her at Timber. She found herself worried over the group. It wasn't going to be easy. "We're to shoot her from afar. Kinneas will be our sharpshooter, Mythal to take a second shot in case he misses. We're to support them to our fullest."

"Should the snipers fail, we are to attack head on.

"Thanks for the support, but I never miss my target." Irvine grinned as the blonde beside him. Alena frowned even more but there was a hint of humor in her eyes.

"Eliminate the sorceress." Squall continued like he had said nothing. "That's your order. We're going to head to the Capital of Galbadia, Deling City."

"There, we'll meet up with General Caraway to go over the details for the plan. Let's get going."

"Hold on a second!" A look of horror passed over Keiran's face as Rayna took a step back, biting her bottom lip. "Caraway? Fury Caraway?" He shook his head. "No! You do not want to have anything to do with that bastard!"

Zell looked at him in shock. "You know him?"

Squall frowned. "Stay out of it, Keiran. We're on a mission. You need to hurry up and get back to Balamb."

"No, Squall, you don't understand. You-" Keiran paused when Rayna placed a hand on her brother's shoulder. He turned and glared at Rinoa; she turned away, a frown on her face. "Fine. Run off and go help that bastard; I don't care anymore."

Lucia watched the group for a moment. "Be careful, all right?"

"Don't worry, Lucia," Quistis smiled at her. "Everything will be fine. Just take care of Lurena."

"Yeah," She nodded before turning to follow the trio.

Keiran was the one driving again as Lurena sat next to him, keeping to herself again. The entire car had an awkward silence to it. Keiran was still fuming, Lurena depressed, and Rayna was sad. It seemed that Lucia was the only emotionless one.

"Fuck this shit!" Keiran turned the wheel and flipped the car around. Lucia glanced out the window.

"Keiran, what are you doing?" Lurena asked. "We have orders to return to the Garden."

"I don't care!" the man growled. "Cid can dishonor me or kick me out or whatever it is. I refuse to let Caraway have his way!"

"Caraway…" Lucia began. "You really don't like him. Who is he?"

Rayna's voice was soft as she stared at her hands in her lap. "He's…he's our father."

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	8. Chapter 7

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**Caraway**_

**Alena was quiet as she glanced around the train room they all sat it. **So far, she wasn't impressed. Was this the best Balamb had to offer? An excited woman in yellow? A brat in blue? A bold guy with a tattoo? An ex-teacher in pink? And then, last but not least, the quiet jerk. How in the hell was this assassination going to work? She found herself wondering about the group of four that they had just been separated from but she hadn't even been introduced to them so there were no thoughts on them. They did look strong, though. A lot stronger than these guys. Especially that man. What was his name? Kenan? Keiran? Something like that.

Oh well. It didn't matter now. They were gone and they were on their way to Deling City to kill some woman. Whoopdi-do.

Alena tried to stay silent, knowing that Irvine was flirting with the other women on the train, mostly the one in yellow, and took to staring at the ceiling as she leaned against the wall by the door.

"I don't want that Irvine guy using the guest room!" Zell told Squall. "Don't open it up for him!"

"Maybe someone should go check on the two of them?" Quistis offered up.

"Irvine will be fine." Alena grumbled, eyes closed still. "This is normal for him. Let him run his mojo down and you'll be fine."

"His mojo?" Rinoa asked, tilting her head to the side.

"His self-confidence around ladies," Alena looked at the younger woman like she was an idiot.

Zell frowned at her. "You don't like being around people too much, do you?"

The woman gave a wolfish grin. "How could you tell?"

"It's a Squall Jr." Quistis teased. She and Zell shared a laugh as Rinoa smiled. Alena and Squall were just left to frown at them. (Think about it; they're twins, XDXD)

Irvine then entered the room again, a sigh of defeat on his lips until he glanced at Rinoa and tried to use his tactics on her. The younger woman dodged out of the way and ran to hide behind Quistis. The ex-teacher was not going to put up with it.

"Irvine Kinneas! You're playing a major role in this mission! Now behave yourself!"

Irvine hung his head. "No one understands me. Sharpshooters are loners by nature. We hone our instincts, pour our whole being into a single bullet. The pressure of the moment…an instant of tension…That's what…I have to face alone. It's not easy. So like, just do me a favor, and let me be! You get my drift?"

"You know," Zell grunted. "I would believe that if your partner wasn't here with us." He thrusted a thumb over at Alena as she stayed silent.

"Ah, yes," The cowboy rubbed the back of his head. "I forgot about her."

"Why don't you tell me how you really feel?" Alena sighed, closing her eyes again.

Quistis looked at the other woman. "I ask for forgiveness. It's no wonder you're…uh…"

"Miserable?" Alena offered up.

"Not the word I was looking for," Quistis grinned. "But I'll take i-"

The train gave a jerk before coming to a stop as everyone fought to regain their footing.

"_Err, there was no damage to the train from that, err, minor vibration…I, uh…repeat…there was no damage to the train from that minor vibration."_

Everything was silent for the rest of the train ride and everyone was pleased and happy to be off of it. Squall, as leader of the group still, led the way through the city. They were getting ready for the ceremony later that night.

"Quite a long walk," Quistis decided to say.

"We're going to Caraway's Mansion, right?" Rinoa sounded. "Just take bus 08."

The blonde turned. "You seem to know this place well. How?"

"I'm Galbadian." Rinoa grinned proudly. "This is where I grew up with Keiran and Rayna…until they left."

"Oh really?" Quistis asked. "You three seem to have quite a story."

"Makes me wonder why the twins didn't tell us it." Zell frowned.

"Let's not talk about that here," Squall cut the talk off. ~So, this is where Laguna's from, huh?~ The teen found himself thinking as he began to lead the way again.

Taking Rinoa's advice, they took bus 08 to Caraway Mansion and were escorted to the gates…where a man told them they had to go to a tomb in the north and return with a code number.

"Is that old man still doing this dumb-ass shit!?" Squall turned at the voice to find a very annoyed Keiran standing there with a nervous Rayna at his side.

"Keiran!" Rinoa sounded relieved at the sight of her siblings. "I thought you guys went back to the other Garden!"

"Yeah, well, change of plans."

"You're going to get in trouble." Zell warned them, a frown of his face.

Rayna rubbed her left arm. "This…this is more important. We'll worry about the trouble after all of this is taken care of."

"Where are Lucia and Lurena?" Quistis asked.

"Lucia took her sister to get something to eat. They'll meet up with us again later." Keiran answered her.

Rayna glanced up at the gateman. "The Code number is still 19, isn't it?"

The man's mouth dropped open. "Y-yes! How did you know?!"

"That old man never changes his numbers," Keiran scowled. "Now let us through."

Squall watched as the man did just that and reached forward to catch Keiran's shoulder before he walked off. "I believe you owe us an explanation."

"Don't worry, Squall," Rayna carefully removed the younger man's hand. "You're about to get all your answers."

Squall was still for a moment before removing his hand. Rayna was not one to lie to him. He could trust her. Everything was about to be revealed with what had been happening between the twins and their younger sister.

Rinoa paused as they reached the front doors. "Umm…Is my contract…still in effect? Don't leave me in this house." She continued as Squall turned to look at her. "I can explain everything."

"You should know by now." Squall scowled at her. "Just tell us what to do and we'll do it."

"Good," Keiran gave a loud knock on the door. "That means that you can't pull out after this crumbles down."

"Crumbles down?" Quistis asked.

The trio did not answer but moved silently after a butler to the room that they were led to. Rayna looked like she just wanted to melt away as Keiran looked like he wanted to explode; Rinoa continued to hold her nervous look. All of them sat in silence before Rinoa finally couldn't take it anymore.

"He always does this! So discourteous…making people wait!" She stood from her seat. "I'm gonna go complain."

"SIT DOWN!" Keiran's voice was firm, not loud, but it still made his sister freeze and sit back in her chair in silence.

Alena watched the three of them for a moment before her mind was able to click everything together. "Caraway. He's related to you, isn't he? This is your houses, isn't it?"

"What?!" Zell stared at Rayna in shock; the entire group held surprised faces.

"Yes," Keiran snorted from the window he stared out of. "That old fool is our Father…though I'd rather he not be." He grumbled the last bit to himself.

"Well, that wasn't something that I was expecting." Quistis admitted as she stared at the man's back. Squall had a small voice in the back of his head that the woman was going to make Keiran explain everything into further depth in the near future. ~I hope this doesn't lead to any trouble,~ He sighed.

"Then no wonder you guys wanted to be involved," Selphie smiled.

"Why be afraid of it?" Zell asked Rayna. "What made you dislike your father and sister so much?"

"That…" the younger twin rubbed her arm. Normally she had answers for everything but lately, since Rinoa had shown up, she had been caught in headlights.

"Ask our sister!" Keiran growled with a look tossed over his shoulder. "I'm sure 'daddy's little angel' can explain everything to you."

Rinoa didn't move for a moment before standing up and leaving the room like she had planned on a few moments before. Rayna frowned, staring after her.

"Keiran, it's not her fault."

"Well, she didn't help us, either." Her brother leaned his head against the window, the glass cooling his skin. His head was raging. "I need a drink."

"Then you should have gone with Lucia and Lurena." Rayna chuckled.

"That might have been the better idea." Selphie agreed with a laugh. "I might just bail out of this and go and join them."

"Take me with you." Zell sighed. "This is getting to be too much of a pain."

"Yeah, well, maybe leaving the two of them alone wasn't such a good idea." Keiran pulled back from the window and turned to face the others in the room. "We need to hurry up and get this done with so we can join back up with them."

"Is something wrong?" Quistis asked.

"I don't think so but…Lucia…" Squall frowned, turning his head away. He knew what the twins were worried about. That man Lucia had told him about. He had been on the train with them and then again in Timber. They were worried about him showing up a third time to her. With Lurena there, Lucia should be fine but he wasn't sure. He hadn't encountered the strange man yet so he had no hold on how strong he was.

The talk couldn't continue as a man, in his late forties, walked in to face them from the door Rinoa had exited out of.

"Where's Rinoa?" Squall asked the man.

"She has not received the type of training you all have, and may become a burden." The General told him. "It's for the best that she stays out of this operation."

"So you're Rinoa's father?" Selphie titled her head.

"I can't remember the last time she called me that." Caraway hung his head.

"Any of us, for that matter, right?" the man lifted his head and looked up at the twins. The room was silent for a moment as everyone waited for the fire to form, lord knows that Keiran looked like he wanted to run forward and beat the hell out of the man, but he controlled himself, surprisingly.

"Keiran, Rayna. I figured that she would go to you two for help." Caraway sighed.

"So, the father's a top military officer, two kids are mercenaries, and the youngest daughter's a member of an anti-government faction!?" Zell cried out. "That's bad…really BAD! You would think your favorites would be the mercenaries, not the brat."

"Yeah, it should be that way, shouldn't it?" Rayna sighed, hanging her head.

Keiran patted his sister on the back. "Look, old man, we're not here to cause trouble. We're here to get this over with so that you and Rinoa are out of our lives again for good, understand? So let's just get this underway."

"Indeed." Caraway nodded.

"Once our mission is accomplished here, we're working for Rinoa, as per our contract." Squall reminded the older man.

"I don't have a damn contract with her. Once I'm done here, I'm done!" Keiran replied.

Squall blinked, holding in a sigh. "I don't know what your situation is, but please don't interfere when the time comes."

Caraway glanced at him. "And if I do?"

"We're all SeeDs here." Squall answered him. "We'll act accordingly."

"Hey, hey, hey, Fellas," Irvine tried to settle them down. "We're here to knock off the sorceress, right? So let's get down to business."

"Irvine is right," Alena agreed with her partner as he stood up beside her; he had been sitting on the arm of her seat. "Anything else can be taken care of AFTER we take care of this woman."

Caraway moved back to the door. "Let me explain the plan." He began to lead them outside. "I'm sure you know about the Galbadian government reaching an agreement with Sorceress Edea. There is going to be a ceremony tonight to commemorate the event."

~Edea…~ The name sounded familiar for some reason.

"It'll be held at the Presidential Residence." They were moving down the street now. During the ceremony, you will split up into the two teams and get in position. The Gateway Team will enter the gateway and stand by. The Sniper Team will stand by at the front of the Presidential Residence until the ceremony is over." Caraway paused on the sidewalk. "This is where the Sniper Team will wait."

"Two teams, huh?" Keiran counted the heads.

Caraway lifted his hand and pointed at the blue building before them. "That is the Presidential Residence. Once the ceremony ends, a parade for the sorceress will begin. That's when the gate will open. Lay low until then. The parade will be canceled if there is any commotion. We must avoid that at all cost. Once the gate opens, the Sniper Team will move out. With the parade drawing the crowd and the guards' attention, it should be rather easy to move about. The Sniper Team will head for the roof of the residence. In the corridor by the sorceress' room, there is a hatch that leads to the clock tower." As the man continued, Squall found his mind traveling off to Lucia and Lurena. They were nearby. Maybe it would be a good idea to get the two of them involved in this as well. "The parade will begin by the gate. The sorceress will be riding on the parade vehicle. After it leaves the gate, the vehicle will turn left. The parade will circle once around the city along the outer road and return here. Here's where the Gateway team comes into play. At exactly 20:00, the parade will pass under the gateway. At this point, the Gateway Team will operate the console to drop the gates. The Sorceress will be trapped inside the gateway. At the same time, the carousel clock will rise out of the roof, carrying the Sniper Team with it. There will be no obstruction between the Sniper Team and the Sorceress. Take the shot."

Irvine held up his hand and gave a wink at Alena. "Bang!" She fought a grin.

"And that is that." Caraway finished. "Now we wait. You're free to go anywhere. Go check the city if you wish. Just one thing." He looked at Keiran as he spoke this time, his eyes firm and hard. "Stay out of trouble."

"We are SeeDs." Squall moved before the older mercenary could make a remark.

"You have an hour." Caraway turned from them. "Report to me residence when you're ready. We'll hold a final meeting then. After that, we'll proceed with the operation." He walked off.

"And that is that." Irvine grinned. "I'm going to go find something to eat. Anyone care to join me?"

"I'll take to that." Alena nodded.

"Same here!" Selphie smiled.

"No thanks," Keiran shook his head. "I just want out of here as fast as I can."

"Good, 'cuz you're coming with me." Quistis grabbed his arm. "I want some answers."

"Me too," Zell placed a hand on his hip as he looked at Rayna.

The twins sighed together. "I need a drink." Keiran mumbled again before leading the four off on their own.

"What about you, Squall?" Selphie asked.

The teen shook his head. "I'm going to go find the sisters. It might be a good idea to have their help in the middle of this."

"Actually, that is a good idea," The woman in yellow nodded. "They're here anyways, so why not? Besides, I'm sure they're both bored out of their minds right now."

"Yeah," Squall nodded, turning to walk down the street. ~Or worried~

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	9. Chapter 8

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**3**__**rd**__** Meeting**_

"**Well, this just keeps getting better and better."**

Lucia lifted her head up from the table she had been laying it on and turned to look at the woman beside her. Lurena had been drinking, and drinking a lot. Lucia was surprised that her sister wasn't drunk yet but that seemed that their family didn't get drunk easily; Lucia had snuck some alchohol herself once, though she and her sister never talked about it.

Lurena hadn't been speaking a word about what had just happened all night but now it seems that she was finally ready. "I've probably lost my job and am no longer a SeeD and there goes your future because of me."

Lucia frowned. "Why would you blame yourself, Lurena? You didn't make me come with you. If he kicks us out because of this then that's his problem. I'm not worried." She leaned back in her chair. "Besides, fighting…" She paused for a moment before shaking her head. "Just don't worry about it. Cid'll probably give you a slap on the wrists before letting you return to work. You're one of the best employees that they have at our Garden. You're thinking too much into it."

"Thanks." Lurena smiled at her sister before hooking an arm around her neck and giving her a hug. "Besides, if they do kick me out then I can always find something else to do for us. I'll always take care of you, Lucia. You don't ever have to fear that."

The younger sister smiled. "I know that, Lurena. And I'll take care of you too. Just wait. One of these days you're going to need me and I'll be there for you."

The older woman gave a laugh before standing up. "I'm going to go get some fresh air. You order something to eat, all right?"

Lucia nodded and picked up the menu again as her sister stepped outside. Lurena hung her head as the cool breeze hit her skin. She had to be strong, had to be firm for her sister but on the inside she was a mess. Everything about Seifer had come crashing down on her. She felt…responsible for all of it. She felt…

"I have never seen you in such sorrow before."

Lurena froze for a moment before turning around to face the man behind her. Tears swelled to her eyes. "Seifer…you're alive?"

"Do I look it?" The man grinned.

Lurena ran at him, throwing her arms around him. His body was firm and warm. "Oh, Seifer! I feared that the woman had killed you! I never would have been able to forgive myself!"

"No, no," The young man assured her. He gave a soft smile as he wiped the unshed tear from her eye. "You know that I don't like to see you cry."

She gave a huff. "You asshole! You should have contacted me to let me know that you were safe! It was all my fault that you were even involved in all of this!"

"You didn't force me to follow you, Lurena. I chose to. I wasn't going to let you go off alone on something as dangerous as this."

"And look where it got you! I-" Her words were cut off as Seifer pulled her into a hug, burying her face into his chest. His strong grip calmed her down and she took a deep breath. "What happened?"

"That woman, the Sorceress, she saved me…in return for something to help her with."

"What are you supposed to help her with?" Lurena pulled her head up to stare into his face.

"Lurena," Seifer stared into her eyes. "She said I could bring you with me," He swallowed. "Said you would be safer with me than you would be out here once…everything starts."

"Everything starts?" Lurena sounded confused. "What's about to happen, Seifer?"

"I can't go into details," The blond shook his head. "But you have to come with me. Grab your sister and let's go."

"Lucia?" Lurena tilted her head to the side.

"Yes," Seifer nodded. "That's…the Sorceress said that her payment for saving me is your sister." He flinched at the look of horror on the woman's face. "It's nothing bad, I swear, Lurena! She swore it wasn't. She is intrigued by your sister's strength, it seems. Yours as well! The three of us will be safe under her, I promise you!"

Lurena pulled back a bit from the man. She wanted to believe what he was saying but still, something just felt…off. "Seifer, I'm not sure…this Sorceress, she's supposed to be-"

Seifer gave a smile. "I understand your worries, Lurena. I'll let you think it over, okay?" He kissed her forehead. "Everything will be fine, I promise." And then he was gone, much like Lucas had been in Timber. Just gone. The woman could only stand there, staring at where he had been as she passed his words over in her mind. What…what did this woman want with her sister?

"Lurena?" She turned at the voice to find Squall walking down the road towards her. "Where's Lucia?"

She wiped the look from her face. "She's inside. We're about to eat. Is something wrong?"

"We need to go to Caraway Manor to meet one last time before the mission." Squall told her. "You go an join the others. I'll grab your sister."

Lurena opened her mouth to object but thought better of it. "All right."

As she walked away, Squall watched her for a moment as she walked away. Had that been Seifer he was? How could it have been? Were his eyes playing tricks on him?

Any other thoughts that traveled through his mind were cut off by a flash from the roof above him.

_**~Don't tell me you're sorry**_

'_**Cause you're not, **_

_**Baby when I know**_

_**You're only sorry you got caught~**_

"**Three times in a single day**? It must be fate."

Lucia froze at the voice as the body slid into her sister's chair just as the front door closed behind her. "You; yet again."

"It's pleasant to see you again as well, Little Flower." Lucas smiled at her.

"Why do you call me that?" She growled. She was not in the mood for this man again.

"Why not?" He continued to grin at her. "You are as soft and beautiful as a flower but at the same time you have thorns. The name suits and fits you." Lucas stood up. "As I said before, it truly must be fate." He then turned his head, as if talking to himself. "Ultimecia will soon learn that I am always right. Foolish woman." He said playfully.

"What do you want from me, Lucas. You keep avoiding the answer."

The man wagged a finger. "Not so, Little Flower. I told you that you would be the one to save us all last time." He held his hand out to her over the table. "You just have to trust me and come."

"And why in the hell would I do that? I don't know you! I meet you out of nowhere and you constantly-" Lucia's voice stopped as the cool wind blew against her skin. Her heart began to pound. She and Lucas were on the roof of the building now. Fear was passing through her veins. He hadn't even touched her and yet here she was with him. He could take her with him any moment and yet he was still asking her to come with him to where he wanted. He was playing with her. But why? What was he after from her?

"Come with me, Lucia," Lucas' gaze was intent. "I will protect you from anything and everything." She just glared at him. "Would you feel better if we brought your sister along?"

"My sister?" Lucia was caught off guard. "You leave my sister alone!" Her voice had squeaked. A smile curled around the edges of the man's face.

"As I told you last time," Lucas moved towards the edge of the roof and stared out over the city. The parade was getting closer to starting. "You don't know anything of what you hold. You either can't find it or you ignore it. We intend to fix that."

"When you say 'we'," Lucia stepped carefully through her words. "Are you talking at the Ultimecia woman you mentioned before?"

"Indeed." Lucas turned back to her. "You will soon learn that everything will be fine. Will be safe."

"Coming from a man that could squash me under his foot in merely seconds, right? I'm finding it hard to believe that you're on my side." She readied herself. She knew that she was no match for this guy but if she could do something, even something small, it should give her time to…~that's it!~ Lucia had to keep the grin from spreading across her lips as she slid her right hand into her pocket.

"Your fear is normal but my patience is growing thin," He told her. "I will take you with me this time, one way or another."

At that, Lucia made her move. She pulled the large, black jewel from her pocket before dropping it on the ground and crushing it beneath her foot. "Diablos!" She cried out.

The jewel crushed into thousands of pieces that turned into bats and flew into a big ball above the building. Then a black and red, demonic like form began to seep out and landed in front of Lucia, blocking her from Lucas' view.

"Ahh, already have the power over Diablos, eh? And again, you say you're not a warrior." Lucas shook his head and gave a smile as he pulled out a jewel of his own. "Let's test who's is stronger."

His summon, Lucia soon found out, was DoomTrain. It set off a flash as it rammed into Diablos, the two traveling through the air to battle as they left the two on the roof alone. She should have run while she had the chance.

"Just leave me alone, dammit! What could you possibly want from me!?" Lucia cried out. "Me, of all people?! Just tell me instead of hiding it you damn idiot!"

Lucas gave a laugh. "Annoyed, are we? You are so entertaining, Lucia."

The woman growled and banged her bracelet, pulling out her sword. "Either tell me or I'll force it out of you!"

Lucas' grin turned wider. "All right. If you beat me, I'll tell you everything. If I win, though, I get to take you with me, deal?"

Lucia opened her mouth to reply but caught herself. This man was more powerful than she was. There was no way that she was going to- "You won't beat me!" She growled. "You won't!"

The man began to laugh. "So entertaining, Little Flower. Shall we put your word to the…" His words faded off as his eyes moved past her. Lucia glanced over her shoulder for a moment and then had to do a double take.

"Squall?!"

"Ah, Leonhart, huh?" Lucas crossed his arms. "What are you doing here?

Squall glanced at Lucia before walking past her, placing his body between her and the man. "So you're the man from the train and Timber, are you?"

"Indeed."

"I'm giving you a chance to leave now before my mind changes. We're in the middle of a mission so we don't have time to deal with your games."

"Bold, aren't you? I don't like being denied my prize repeatedly, you know." He scowled at the younger man.

"I told you to leave."

Lucas began to growl in some other language and took a step forward but paused, much like he had on the train. "Dammit," He turned back to the duo, his eyes fierce. "You have luck on your side. When she calls I must go. But I will not retreat a fourth time without my prize."

"I'm not some object to win!" Lucia growled, but the man was already gone. She cursed at him before crouching down and wrapping her arms around her knees. "Stupid idiot," But was she calling him that, or herself?

"What has he been trying to do to you?" Squall asked her.

"He wants me to go with him to some woman named Ultimecia. I keep asking why but he's playing jokes with me. Jokes and it's starting to piss me off!" Lucia cradled her head on her knees. "And yet I know that I won't be able to fight him off. He flicked Keiran away like he was nothing! How will _I _be able to fight him? He'll kill me!"

Squall stared at her for a moment before placing his Gunblade on his shoulder and giving a sigh as he turned back to the door. "It just means you can't be left alone."

That immediately made her think about what they were doing with Rinoa…that that pissed her off. "I don't need to be guarded like that pompous princess!"

"And yet you're going to be, even if me and you sister are the ones doing it." Squall glanced back at her. "He's after you for a reason and I want to know why. I will find out. He's not going to hurt one of my companions."

Lucia lifted her head and stared at him. He had turned back to the door. "Let's go. I already sent your sister off to the others. We've got to get ready for the parade."

~Parade?~ Lucia was silent as she stood again and followed Squall as he led the way down the stairs. ~What the hell is he talking about?~

She did wear a small smile though, at the thought of Squall wanting to protect her from Lucas.

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Nine**_

_**Parade Problems**_

"**Something happened, didn't it?"**

Lurena's words caught Lucia the moment she followed Squall into the room. Lucia flushed as all eyes turned to her. Damn her sister and her special sense when Lucia was in panic. She refused to look at anyone as Squall glanced at her, interested in her reply.

It seemed that the twins understood what was being talked about as well. "Him again, was it?" Rayna asked.

"Yeah," Lucia sighed it, no longer trying to hide it now.

"A second time?!" Keiran's voice ripped through the room as he jumped from the seat he had been in. "What the hell does that freak want?"

"Third time," Lucia sighed as Squall corrected the other man. "He was in Timber as well." Keiran and Rayna shared a shocked look as they glanced at Lucia. She had turned her face away, growing red.

"Who are you talking about?" Zell asked, glancing between them.

"It seems that Lucia has caught someone's attention," Squall began.

"What do you mean?" Quistis took a step from the window.

"Just a stalker trying to convince me to go with him," Lucia waved it away. "Nothing to be worried about. He won't bother me for too much longer."

"You sure about that?" Alena's voice made the teen glance at her but before she could answer her, Caraway joined them again.

"It's time to form the…" He froze at the sight of the two new women for a moment before turning back to his words. "It's time to form the teams."

Lucia frowned as she glanced between the General before them at then at the twins. They looked…similar.

Lurena put it together faster than her sister did and a frown spread across her face. She knew the story behind the twins' past and it wasn't hard to figure out who this man was. She didn't like it but at the same time she knew that causing problems with what she would say to their father would be a bad idea and so she kept her mouth shut.

"The Snipers and the leader of this operation will for the sniper team," He paused for a moment, counting the members. "The leader's role is vital. If the plan fails for some reason…or should the sniper's miss…the leader must carry out a d2irect assault against the sorceress. The plan was devised carefully, because2 we intend this to be a covert operation. But our ultimate goal is to eliminate the sorceress, and we must achieve this at all cost. Even if they uncover our identities."

"We know what we have to do, old man." Keiran crossed his arms. "Just get on with it."

Caraway glared at his son before turning away. "So, who's going to lead the operation?"

"There are two separate snipers, so there should be two different leaders that can work together on separate sides of the city," Quistis told him.

"Squall and Lurena," Selphie smiled. "Squall can go with Irvine, and Lurena with Alena."

"Works for me," Zell crossed his arms behind his head.

Lurena frowned for a moment before turning her head. Squall shrugged, not seeming to care.

"Fine." Caraway nodded. "I'll leave the rest up to you two."

"Irvine, myself, and Lucia will make up the first sniper team," Squall announced. The teen looked at him in surprise, thinking that she would end up being sent with her sister; apparently not. "Lurena, Alena, and Keiran will make the second one."

"Done." Keiran grinned, giving his teacher a thumbs-up.

"Rayna," Squall looked to the twin. "The rest of you will be the gateway team."

"Sure." She nodded.

"Whoo-hoo!" Selphie grinned.

"Roger." Quistis stood from her seat.

"Let's DO IT!" Zell shouted.

"Quistis, I can trust you to take care of the students, can't I?" Lurena asked her friend as she stood up.

"Leave it to me." The blonde smiled.

"Now, let's begin."

"No time to wait now, Quistis," Rayna smiled, pushing the other woman out of the door after the others. "Let's go!"

"Lucia and I'll make the first charge when we make the full-on attack." Squall was saying. "I'll try to buy some time."

"That won't be necessary…" Irvine replied. "I'll get the job done."

"And if he doesn't, I will." Alena told him.

"It doesn't matter," Keiran snorted at them both. "Just kill the witch so we can go back home."

Irvine smirked. "So like…is it true that SeeDs aren't supposed to question their mission?"

"What do you care?" Squall asked him.

Irvine ignored him. "So like…if you knew that your enemies were pure evil, you'd get more fired up to fight them, right?"

"Pure evil?" Lucia glanced at the man.

"Just shut up, Irvine." Alena told her partner, a hand on her hip as the paused at the gateway. "Now's not the time. We need to concentrate."

"She's right." Caraway agreed. "The Gateway Team will wait inside the gate until 20:00. You can enter through this door. The sorceress will pass through the gateway at exactly 20:00. In that instant, lower the gates using the control console located on the top floor and trap her inside the gateway."

"Not a problem." Zell grinned.

"Be careful," Rayna told her brother.

"Don't worry; I'm always careful." He grinned as the rest of them moved away.

"LIAR!" His sister's voice followed them as he chuckled.

"Now, what do we do?" Lucia asked them.

"You three will wait here," Caraway told her. "You other three will do the same on the other side of the crowd."

"Question," Alena placed a hand on her hip. "What's the point of this parade, anyway?"

Caraway answered her. "She wants to establish her place in Galbadia Garden, since she has chosen it to serve as her base."

"So, that's why you don't want her here," Keiran crossed his arms as the music began to play. "You still don't like not being in control, do you?"

"It's starting." His father frowned. "I'm returning to my residence. Good Luck."

Alena watched as the man walked away before glancing back at the others. "If it's starting, let's go ahead and split up. Get this over with, you know?"

"Yep, no problem there." Keiran turned and began to lead the way.

"Be careful," Lurena told her sister before they turned and followed the man.

"You too." Lucia nodded, watching them go. "Don't worry," She told herself. "Everything will be fine."

The trio stayed silent, just keeping to themselves as the parade continued to wait for the Sorceress.

"Here she comes." Irvine voiced.

Lucia lifted her head in time to see the sorceress approach the pedestal.

The woman had long, black hair pulled back with yellow eyes. Dressed in a purple, skin-tight dress with a plunging neckline and feathers around the collar with a headpiece covered with jewels as she wore a metallic half-circle frame on her back with two long strips of material hanging down each side.

But that's not all that she saw.

"What in the hell is that stupid moron doing up there?" She growled at the sight of Rinoa standing behind their enemy.

"Rinoa…" Squall shook his head in disappointment.

"_Lowlifes." _The words of the Sorceress were cold. _"Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one whom you have condemned for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and destroyed many nations? Where is she now? She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler." _She tossed her head back and began to laugh.

"Why are these guys still cheering?" Lucia asked. "Her words aren't…"

"_A new era has just begun." _Lucia watched as the President turned to say something and then jumped as the sorceress killed him. _"This is reality. No one can help you. Sit back and enjoy the show. Rest assured, you fools. Your time will come. This is only the beginning. Let us start a new reign of terror. I will let you live a fantasy beyond your imagination." _She turned and led the way from the stage. Rinoa followed her, like some kind of puppet for a few feet before two monsters jumped out of the crowd to attack her.

"Hey, hey, hey, she's in trouble big-time!" Irvine cried. "We've gotta go help Rinoa."

"Can't." Squall shook his head. "The gates aren't open yet."

"They're about to be." Lucia told him. The dancers began, leading the way forward as the large gates pulled open, revealing a car to follow them with the Sorceress on top of it.

And someone else that neither Squall nor Lucia had been expecting to see.

"Seifer!?" The young teen cried out at the sight of the blond man. Oh boy, was her sister going to be pissed or what?

"Now's our chance!" Irvine told Squall. Alena can take care of the Sorceress. We have to save Rinoa.

"Yeah, I'll save her," Lucia growled, moving through the crowd. "I'll save her and then beat the crap out of her myself for being such a damn idiot!" Keiran was on the other side of the platform so he wasn't able to see who it was standing there. He was too far away…or was he?

Squall seemed to agree, or maybe not, but he took off after her, Irvine following as she quickly found a way to climb up to the platform and rush out to Rinoa to save her.

"**I don't believe it. **It's Seifer!"

Keiran's voice grabbed Lurena's attention and she turned from the talk she was holding with Alena. Her heart jumped. She watched, ignoring the dancers and the fireworks as Seifer waved out to the crowd, that smug look on his face.

"C'mon," Alena told them. "Let's get into our position."

"Agreed," Kieran nodded, moving after her.

Lurena stared after the cart for a moment, thinking about what Seifer had told her not long ago. Would Lucia truly…would she still be safe? Was that idea going to be the right to choose?

It was making her head hurt.

"**You stupid moron!"**

Lucia's voice echoed around the room as her blade sliced through the head of one of the monsters. Squall's Gunblade did the same to the other as Irvine ran to the woman on her knees.

"I was scared…" Rinoa shuddered.

"Shut up!" Lucia aimed a kick in Rinoa's butt-hard. "You're a fucking moron for coming out here. You just cause more problems than we need!"

(I'm sorry, I just hate this stupid idiot. I don't know who I hate more, Aerith or Rinoa. And if you've read my FF7 stories, then you know just how much I hated Aerith, lol)

"Don't hit me!" Rinoa growled, jumping to her feet and from Irvine's arms. Squall just crossed his arms, watching for a moment. "Why do you hate me?"

"Why? We're only in this because of you and…" Lucia paused for a moment and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Now is not the time for this. If you want me to tell you, we'll do it after this is over to where I can yell at you all I want." She turned back to Squall. "Let's just get this over with." She then glanced at the woman behind her. "If you're going to be that scared, then just stick close to us. I'll make sure that you don't die; I just can't promise no wounds."

Squall had to fight to keep back his smile and silent chuckles as he turned from the trio behind him. Rinoa seriously pissed Lucia off, it seems. He just wondered why, now. He had never seen this silent, sweet girl that he sat beside for years now act this way. It was…something new. Something that he…apparently, foud himself interested in.

But why was that?

"So, what now?" Irvine asked.

"What else?" Squall glanced at him as he led the path. "We hurry back to our position and take care of our job." Squall then paused in the hallway for a moment, taking a good look at the trap door hidden in the floor. It led the way to the clock tower that they needed. Irvine's sniper rifle was waiting for them. Squall picked it up and turned to the other man.

"Irvine Kinneas, it's in your and Alena's hands now."

Irvine nodded in silence and then moved over to the other side to have a few moments to get ready. Lucia was sure that Alena was doing the same thing.

"So, it seems that Seifer is still alive," Squall turned to Lucia's voice. She had taken a seat on one of the pedestals. "And he's on the Sorceress' side, it seems. I wonder what happened."

"Seifer's alive?" Rinoa thought over her other words. "What does it mean?"

"Who knows?" Squall shrugged, taking a seat near Lucia. ~If I were to face the sorceress directly…would I have to go through Seifer? Or would Lurena want…~ He glanced at Lucia. "We may end up killing Seifer."

"Maybe…" Lucia was nibbling her bottom lip. Squall knew that she was thinking about her sister as well now. "But maybe we can…I can talk him out of it."

"Maybe…" Squall paused again. Should he tell Lucia that he had seen Lurena talking to Seifer before the parade started? Would it matter? Would it change anything? "It's all up to Irvine and Alena." Squall told her. "We'll worry about it afterwards." He looked at the other man and raised a brow at his shaking. "Don't tell me you're getting the jitters."

"I…I can't do it." Irvine told him.

Squall slapped a hand to his face and shook his head as Lucia pulled a surprised face. "What do you mean?!" She demanded.

"**All right, it's almost time." **Rayna tapped her foot, getting ready for the Sorceress' cart to pass by them. "Not too much longer, now. You guys ready for this? After we open the path, we gotta hurry and get to Squall and the others, just in case Irvine and Alena miss their shot."

"Yeah, I know, but we gotta have faith in the two of them!" Selphie told her.

"And don't forget that Keiran and Lurena are there to help Squall as well. The three of them should be able to handle it." Quistis assured her.

"Hey, Lucia's not that bad of a fighter. Especially when she's pissed! She'll have no problems either." Zell reminded them.

"True," Rayna gave a small chuckle. She turned to look out of the window and pointed at Selphie as the clock struck 20. "Go."

"Roger!" The other woman smiled, running to the switch.

"**Alena is the one that can do it," **Irvine sighed. "Not me. She'll have to do it. I-I can't. I always choke like this. I try to act all cool, joke around, but I just can't handle the pressure. Alena is really the best, not me."

Lucia grabbed the man and shook him by his jacket. "Grow a pair, dude! Be a man! We came this far already!"

Squall looked at her in surprise. Perhaps she was still upset over what had happened with Lucas and she was taking it out on the others. Either way, he was still shocked.

The jerking of the platform told them that the time had come and into the night they rose. Lucia looked at Irvine as the gate slammed closed on the cart, locking the Sorceress and Seifer inside.

"Am I going to have to do this?"

Irvine stared at her for a moment. Her words took her back into the memory when he first went up against Alena in a shooting matching at the school.

"_Are you going to be a baby and let a woman kill the target? Or are you going to be a man and do it yourself?"_

Irvine straightened the hat on his head and pulled a firm face. "I've always promised myself that I would never let a woman take the shot a second time," He turned to face the target and readied his gun, taking a deep breath as he heard his heart pounding in his head.

**Edea glared into the crowd as the gunshot went off. **Raising her hand, she lifted a barrier and blocked the bullet from hitting her. A second one went off from behind though, catching her off guard. She whipped around to block it as good as she could, but smiled with another 'ting' went off. Her grin deepened.

"I wondered when you were going to show up, Lucas."

The large man turned and gave the Sorceress behind him a grin. "You know that I'm never far, dearest."

"Did you get the girl?"

He then frowned. "No. You always have the timing to call me to you when I am about to win. You know that I come whenever you call, no matter what I am doing." He glanced at the cage they now stood in. "What would you like me to do now?"

"Just wait." She sat back down in her chair with a smile as Seifer gave a smirk. "Our 'friends' will be here soon, I'm sure."

"Here they come." Seifer grinned. Lucas glanced around. From either side of the 'cage', a set of people could be seen, moving towards them. He grinned.

"It seems our Little Flower is coming in for an attack, dearest."

Edea gave a larger, more sinister grin this time. "Good. It'll make things so much easier."

"**A car, Squall?"**

Lucia couldn't help but give a grin as she slid into the seat beside him. Irvine and Rinoa were left behind. Squall had told her to stay back as well, but there was no way in hell that she was going to let him go off on his own; though she was sure that Keiran and Lurena were on their way as well.

"Faster," Squall told her. "Now hang on." He zoomed them towards the gate, knocking people out of the way before slamming into the bars to stop. Both of them hoped out and hurried around the car for a good look at the trio that stood there, waiting on them.

"You!" Lucia's voice gave out a squeak at the sight of the man standing to the right of the Sorceress. Squall placed himself in front of her, glaring at the trio with his Gunblade at the ready.

Lucas gave a smile. "As I said before, Little Flower, it is fate."

"That means that you…" She looked at the woman. "You're Ultimecia, aren't you!" She then turned to Seifer. "And what the hell are you doing on their side!?"

Seifer closed his eyes for a moment before turning his gaze to Squall. "Well, this is how it turned out."

"So, both of you are the sorceress' lap dogs."

"I believe that both of us prefer to be called her knights." Seifer grinned. "This has always been my dream."

"Yeah, and what about my sister, you bastard!" Lucia growled at him, taking a step around Squall. "When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna-"

"I'm afraid that it's me you're going to have to worry about, like always, My Little Flower." Lucas grinned at her.

"Not this time, you bastard!" Lucas jumped back just in time to dodge Keiran as he brought his lance down in a fierce blow, placing a huge dent when the other man once stood. "It's me you're gonna have to deal with this time!"

"Lucia, you all right?"

The teen turned to watch as her sister joined them. "Yeah. Lurena, I-"

"Ahh, there you are," Seifer smiled at the older woman. "Have you made up your mind?'

"Made up your mind?" Squall repeated him, glancing at the teacher.

"Seifer…" Lurena hung her head.

Lucas gave another of his smiles. "I believe your woman has refused to join you, Seifer." He turned his eyes back to Lucia. "Don't worry. I'll get our prize either way."

"I am not just something to be won, you bastard!" Lucia growled, ripping her sword out of her bracelet.

"No," Squall held his arm out in front of her. She glared at him. "Lurena, Keiran, take care of him until we take down Seifer and join you."

Keiran gave a grin. "You got it! Let's go, teach!" Lurena gave Seifer another glance before turning to help her student.

"I won't lose," Seifer told them.

"That's what you always say." Lucia growled, running forward.

Seifer had always been a badass with his blade, but Lucia was not in the mood to lose tonight. With every knick or cut that she received from attacks it just made her more fierce. And her and Squall; their blade work was in sync much like it had been in the training grounds at the Garden.

"Ugh!" Seifer fell to his knees as Squall whacked the side of his head with the flat of his blade. He was sent flying onto his back before pushing himself up into a sitting position.

"You're losing it, Seifer." Squall told him.

"…A SeeD." Edea commented. "…Planted in a run-down Garden."

"They're all SeeDs," Lucas' fight with Keiran and Lurena had come to a halt as well. This time it seemed that the SeeDs were the ones without breath this time.

Her eyes landed on Lucia. "Not for much longer."

Lucas gave a grin and turned back to the four before them. "Not much longer at all."

Edea had now decided to join Lucas in the fight against the four before them. Her Thundaga was fierce but they were able to make it out of the way.

"We have to come up with a plan!" Lucia told Keiran as she landed next to him.

"I know that!" He growled. He then shook his head. "Where's Rayna when you need her!"

"I don't know where sister is, but you've got me to rely on, brother!" Keiran turned in time to see Irvine and Rinoa run up, their weapons ready.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I can fight if I'm with you, Keiran! Just let me!"

"It matters not," Lucas placed himself in front of them. "You will not keep me from my prize." He went to run forward but was caught off guard by a bullet grazing his face. A look of shock passed over him before being replaced by anger as his gaze turned to their new companion.

Alena's gun was still smoking as she reloaded it. "You should keep your mind open and aware of your surroundings instead of running your mouth."

Lucas wiped his face and took one look at the blood on his hand before his anger skyrocketed. He shot out at Alena, just to get caught off-guard but Lurena and Keiran blocking his path together and sending him backwards.

Squall and Lucia having their own problems at the moment. They couldn't get past Edea's shield. None of their attacks ever reached her! How in the hell were they supposed to get past that?!"

"Impudent SeeDs!" The Sorceress cried out at them all. Just then, a bright blue light shot out, winding around her as she got ready to use another spell. This time it was an ice spear. Several of them, actually. Rinoa dodged out of the way of them, landing on her stomach, but Lucia didn't have the time as her attention was caught by Lucas landing a blow on her sister. Squall knew where the spear was headed though, and his body seemed to more with a mind all on its own. He knocked Lucia out of the way, taking the spear into his own chest instead.

The teen turned and watched as Squall stumbled backwards. Everyone froze and watched as he stood there for a moment before tipping over backwards and fall off of the cart.

"No! Squall!"

Squall felt his eyes slipping close as he fell towards the ground. The last thing he saw was Lucia following him over the side.

**We have finally reached disc two, guys. Whoo-hoo!**

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	11. Chapter 10

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Ten**_

_**Prison Break**_

"**You know, smart people would be breaking OUT of prison, not IN."**

"Yeah, and?"

Lucia sighed. "Keiran, are you sure that you can lead us through here?"

"Of course." The man nodded. "This is D-District Prison. When Caraway DID like his son, he brought me with him whenever he came, teaching me to get ready to follow in his footsteps." Rayna gave her brother a soft look at the distant sound of pain in his voice.

"Pull the look of your face," Lurena told her student. "We've got to bust the others out of here."

Lucia didn't remember too much of what happened after Squall had been struck with the ice. All she did was see him go down before rage took over her. She had rushed for the Sorceress, who didn't seem to think that the younger woman would get through her shield. She had. Apparently, the fist landing in Edea's face pissed Lucas off more than anything but before he could move to retaliate, Lurena had moved forward and grabbed her sister. Keiran and Rayna followed her, leaving the others to the fate of being thrown into prison. She felt guilty about leaving the others behind to the fate of being thrown in prison but that was why she was here now.

They had only run into a few guards and Keiran and Lurena were able to take care of them in time. Lucia was getting rather nervous with why there was only a few guards in the halls but that wasn't what she was here to worry about. She was here to save Squall. And when she did, she was going to demand why he had protected her from Edea's attack instead of letting it strike her. What a moronic thing to do.

Squall was here, and not dead, wasn't he? She prayed that he was.

Lucia gave a jump as an alarm began to go off in the Prison.

"What the hell?" Keiran growled, gripping his lance.

"I believe we've been found out," Rayna told her brother.

"_Warning! Escapee alert! Monsters will be set loose on each floor. If escapee refuses to surrender, you have permission to kill. The anti-magic field will be lifted."_

"This rings 'Zell' to me." Keiran gave his twin a look.

Rayna glanced away. "We need to hurry. With monsters running around, it'll make us take longer to get to the others."

Keiran took off up the stairs, leading them to the next floor, Floor 9. Guards jumped them, with a huge yellow robot with them, but Lurena wasn't in the mood. They were here to grab their companions and get the hell out of there as fast as they could. They didn't even destroy the monsters as they passed them. They just knocked them aside and carried on.

"Now, where would they have the others?" Keiran asked himself.

"Well," Rayna began. "They would want to be questioning the others, so they might be trying to get all the answers out of them on 'The Wall'."

"The wall?" Lucia tilted her head.

"Electrocution, my dear." Lurena answered her sister.

"Oh my."

"And since Seifer is probably the one doing it, now that he works with the Sorceress, I have a good idea to think that Squall is the first one he took in there."

"Hmm," Lurena wore a firm face but the three of them knew what was going through her mind. Would Lurena be able to go through with this? "And what floor would this be on?"

"The thirteenth."

On the 13th floor, they came across a group of red, cat-like creatures standing in front of a large door.

"What are these?" Lurena asked.

"Moombas," Rayna answered, placing a hand on one of their heads. "It seems that the guards still treat them horribly."

"Laguna!" The creatures began to say brightly, pointing towards the door.

"Laguna?" Lurena repeated. ~Isn't that the name of that man from the Dreams?~

Lucia didn't pause to wait and hurried through the door. The others followed her to find Squall leaning against the wall with another trio of Moombas.

"Squall!" The teen hurried forward and took the weakened man in her arms. He tried to push her away but she brushed his hands aside, checking all over him for wounds of anything. There was nothing; not even from the blow from the Sorceress. His skin was so cold. "Oh lord," She felt like she was going to cry but bit her lip, holding it back.

"You okay, dude?" Keiran asked, taking a step forward to lean down in front of the other man.

"It was hell…" Squall told him slowly, his eyes half open as he leaned against Lucia's body.

"We need to get him out of here," Lurena cupped her chin, thinking. "Rayna, do you think you and Luca could carry him?"

"Not a prob-"

"Guys!" the voice cut her reply off and they turned to find Quistis, Zell, and Selphie running into the room. "You're all okay!" Zell smiled.

"There you dopes are," Keiran stood back up and then glanced at the trio. "Are Irvine and Alena not with you guys?"

"No," Quistis shook her head. "We thought that they would be with you."

"No, we didn't get caught. We broke in to get you guys out of here." Rayna told her.

"Rinoa was with us," Selphie said. "But the guards came and took her away."

"That don't surprise me." Keiran hissed, placing a hand on his hip.

"Let's just get the hell outta here!" Zell told them, stomping a foot.

"Well, Squall can barely move," Lucia argued, still holding him. "We're going to have to go slowly and carefully."

"Here, I'll help you carry him," Selphie took a step forward.

"I don't…need…carried…" Squall tried to brush her away but he was too weak.

"Just accept the help you idiot," Keiran told the other man. "We need to get out of here so let's go."

Squall seemed to take his words and relaxed, leaning his head against Lucia's shoulder as she and Selphie lifted him to his feet and supported his weight between the two of them. Lucia let Rayna and Keiran argue about how to get off the floors the fastest, her mind set on the man on her shoulder; and the feelings in her gut. They were…very different to how she normally felt around Squall. Normally she was annoyed with him, now she was…she didn't know what she was. It must have been from his words about protecting her from Lucas and then again what he had done the night before with Edea's attack on her. Squall was normally a strong man, but to see him weakened to a state like this…it was barely bearable to her. She made a silent vow to never let that happen again.

Zell and Rayna were chosen to stay behind and operate the Control room as the rest of them got on the elevator. Keiran wanted to stay with his sister, but the twins were the only two who knew how to completely control the machine and they couldn't just leave Rayna up there by herself. They could trust Rayna and Zell to get out safely on their own.

After Keiran and the sisters revealed to the others that they were buried under a desert, an array of gunshots went off behind them in another section of the prison.

"Oh, I think I know who that is." Selphie sang with worry.

"We need to go help them!" Lucia said.

"You two stay here with Squall," Keiran told them. "You'd just be in the way now."

Lurena and Quistis accompanied Keiran in saving Zell and Rayna from the Warden of the Prison.

"Damn, this guy is weaker than I remember," Keiran frowned at the body.

"Thanks, man!" Zell smiled in relief as Rayna hugged her brother. A round of bullets made the five of them duck down behind the railing.

"There's no way we can get out of here!" Zell cried.

"They guards know that we're here," Rayna agreed. "If we try to get out the way we came, then there's definitely going to be a problem since we have three incompatible fighters."

Keiran gave a smile. "Let's ditch Squall."

"Keiran," Quistis and Lurena growled together.

"I'm just kidding!" He glanced over the railing just in time to find that the gunshots finally stopped and the guards fell to the ground. "What the-"

"Miss us?" A voice called from the stairs. They turned to find Irvine and Alena walking towards them, Rinoa following.

"Come on, stop trying to act so cool!" Rinoa kicked the back of Irvine's leg and he went to tumble down the stairs but Alena caught him and stabled him. Rayna gave a smirk as the sharp-shooter grabbed her sister by the hair and dragged her to them.

"Keep this moron away from me," She shoved the teen into her brother's chest.

"Moron!?" Rinoa stomped a foot, turning back to the other woman.

"Yes, moron!" Alena looked ferocious. "Who in the hell kicks someone down the stairs? Especially after we save your ass!"

"Rinoa, you're all right!" Quistis smiled.

"Of course," Irvine smiled. "Courtesy of my escort."

"Where are the other three?" Alena asked, hand on hip, not caring to let Rinoa explain everything.

"They're by the basement doors." Keiran answered. "In the thought of escaping, I forgot that the Prison had been buried after Rayna and I left."

"So we have to head back up again?" Lurena asked.

"It seems so." Zell sighed.

"Irvine and I will hold these goons back." Alena told them. "Get the others and go."

"No need," They turned to see the trio moving towards them. "Let's just go."

"Squall!" Rinoa moved forward to the hurt man but Lucia put an end to that right away with a glare.

"When to the top, use the control panel to help us up to the top faster." Alena continued. "So hurry."

"God, after this," Keiran whined as they reached the twelfth floor. "We're going to a buffet to gain back all the weight I lost from running up and down these damn stairs!"

"Stop whining and just move!" Rayna shoved her hands into his back and pushed him up the final stairs. "Alena and Irving are still down there!"

Everyone got a breather for a moment as Rayna went to the controls.

"Is he okay?" Lucia lifted her head to her sister. They had set Squall into a seat on one of the rails, his head still leaning against Lucia's shoulder as Selphie talked to Zell and Rinoa.

"I'm not sure. I think all he needs is rest but moving him around isn't giving him that. And I don't know how high the shock on the wall was nor how many times he went through it. Only time will tell."

"But what do you think?"

"I think he'll be fine." Lucia answered her sister after a moment. "Squall's strong. He won't let something like this keep him down."

Lurena watched her sister as she glanced at Squall from the corner of her eye. A small smile spread across her lips. This was a total replay of the first time she found Seifer. The crazed teen had worn himself out in the Training Grounds of the Garden and she had come across him, saving him from the creatures inside. It was…sweet.

When Alena and Irvine joined them again, they all hurried outside and the breath of fresh air hit them hard…as did the three guards in armor and machine waiting on them. Quistis, Alena, and Selphie created a woman trio that quickly finished off the enemy as Rayna took Selphie's spot in helping carry Squall; Lucia refused to let go of him.

"What is this place?" Quistis asked, looking around the desert at the rest of the prison.

"No way! When I came in earlier, it wasn't like this…" Rinoa cried.

"It's hard to explain," Keiran told her. "Let's just go."

But Lucia and Rayna were not as fast as the others as the walkway began to disappear. Carrying Squall between the two of them slowed them down. The path beneath their feet disappeared, leaving nothing but the bar to hang on to with one hand each as they still clung to Squall.

"Fuck!" They heard Keiran cry out from the other drill. "Hang on, guys!"

"We've got to get over there," Rayna grunted, hanging onto the rail for dear life. "But how with one hand?"

"I…I…" Lucia knew the answer to that question but she didn't want to do it.

"Lucia," Lurena called to her sister. "You…you're going to have to-"

"No!" Lucia cried. "I won't do it! I won't let him go! I'm not going to just drop him!"

"You're going to have to," Alena told her. "If you want to continue living.

"I won't do it!" Lucia cried. She could feel her grip loosening on the limp hand, and on the railing. "I won't…I won't let him die."

Rayna stared at her friend for a moment before a smile spread across her cheeks. "If you won't, Lucia, then neither will I." She firmed her face. "We can hold on until the pathway comes back. We can do it, Lucia." She felt her grip fading a bit but she would hold on for as long as she could.

Lucia began to bite her bottom lip as Squall's hand began to slip more and more from her grip. ~No~ she told herself over and over again. ~No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I won't do it! I won't drop him! I refuse to let him-~

"Squall!" Rayna cried out. At her friends voice, Lucia feared that she had dropped the man and she was about to drop him too, but instead she found that Squall's hand had curved around hers, firming the grip.

"Squall!" She cried out too, tears swelling up in her eyes as the man quickly grabbed the railing above him, freeing Rayna's hand. The woman gave a sigh of relief.

Squall squeezed her hand, giving her a soft smile as he hung beside her on his own now. The silent 'thank you' in his eyes was all she needed to give her the strength to shimmy across the rail to the others. Lurena enwrapped her sister in her arms the moment she stood as Keiran did the same to Rayna.

"Got lucky there with a hard-headed woman, eh Squall?" Zell teased.

"You kidding me?" Keiran snorted. "The only woman that can handle Squall should be hard-headed."

Squall gave a snort and turned, just to have Lucia plow into his chest, hugging him. He raised his eyes and saw that everyone had turned from the duo, starting to talk about what to do next, giving the two of them a private moment.

"I'm glad you're all right," She told him.

"I wouldn't have been, if not for you." He told her, placing a hand on her head.

"Are you kidding me?!" She leaned back to look at him. "You got hurt because you decided to block the Sorceress' attack! I couldn't just leave you here to be tortured. I'm the one that got you caught!"

"You didn't do anything, Lucia. I did it to myself."

"But why?" She asked him. "Why protect me from that?"

Squall searched for an answer, unable to find out. Thank God Keiran decided to jump into the conversation and get them to continue to move. He didn't know what to tell the woman. they got to a set of cars to make their path through the desert, but the question was where would they go?

"That was way too dangerous, wasn't it?" Rinoa asked.

"Yeah," Squall nodded.

"I thought the arms were movin' kinda slow," Irvine pointed out. "They had the submerge system on."

"Let's just get out of here," Keiran crossed his arms.

"I wanna ride in the yellow one!" Selphie smiled.

"Well, there are eleven of us, so it's going to be a bit smooshy in either of them," Quistis pointed out. "I'll ride in the yellow one as well."

"Same here," Rinoa nodded.

"Come on, Irvine, Keiran." Alean grabbed the two men and pulled them after her into the yellow one."

"I guess that leaves the rest of us in the gray one." Rayna smiled.

"I'll drive," Lurena announced. Zell joined her in the front leaving Lucia to sit between Squall and Rayna in the back.

"So," Lucia smiled. "Where too next?"

"Well, it was announced that the Sorceress was about to launch missiles at the Garden," Lurena relayed what Quistis had told her. "So I believe the Garden would be best."

"Or how about the Missile Base?" Zell offered.

Lurena thought for a moment. "Actually, not a bad idea, Zell. Not a bad idea at all."

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	12. Chapter 11

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Eleven**_

_**Missile Base**_

"**We are in some serious shit, you know that?"**

"Yes, Keiran, I know that."

"Trabia Garden is in ruins now, no doubt, and Balamb is right behind it."

"Not if we get to the base first. Besides, the other will get there in time to warn the others. Don't worry, Keiran," Quistis smiled at the man. "Everything will be just fine."

He gave a sigh and closed his eyes. "I hope so."

"Stop worrying, dude," Zell grinned at his friend. "Squall and the others got it under control. Now we gotta handle taking down that missile base!"

The group had been split up into this. Keiran, Quistis, Zell, Rayna, Selphie and Alena were on their way to the Galbadian Missile Base. Squall led the others, Lucia, Lurena, Rinoa, and Irvine, to Balamb Garden to warn them.

"Well," Alena glanced back from the driver's seat. "Here's our chance." She had pulled the car to a stop outside the gates. "So, how do you want to go by this?"

"Sneaking in would be the best way," Rayna began.

"Why sneak when you can bust?" Her brother grinned.

"And have them set the bombs off anyway?" Zell asked him. "No thanks."

~Morons,~ Alena sighed as she set the car into motion again. The group fell silent for a moment until the door was let down so they could pass through.

"You gotta be shittin' me." Keiran sounded surprised.

"Not bad, Alena," Quistis smiled at the other woman. "Not bad at all."

"You gotta think fast on your feet when in situations like this," the shooter replied as she drove forward into the base. "Now let's get this over with."

"I second that." Zell nodded, hopping out of the car. "You'd think these idiots would check the cars before letting them in."

"True," Rayna agreed. "But then again, who in their right mind would sneak into a missile base?"

"_Following the launch on Trabia Garden, prepare for the launch on Balamb Garden. All personnel, take your positions."_

"Someone trying to stop that," Selphie growled, hurrying forward. She knocked a set of guards out to gather some uniforms for them to pull on.

"What time is the launch going to be?" Quistis asked.

"It's doesn't matter!" Selphie told her. "We have to stop the missiles! That's all there is to it, right!? If there's a door, we go in! If there's anything we can break, we break! And in the end, we blow this place to smithereens!"

Quistis gave a smile. "Selphie's all fired up."

"Love it!" Keiran gave a grin of his own. "Keep it up, sweetheart!"

The young woman flushed before turning from the group. "Let's get a move on!"

"Hell yeah!" Zell and Keiran cried out together, running after her.

Quistis, Rayna, and Alena stood there for a moment, watching the three of them in silence before following after them.

"How am I attracted to that?" Quistis sighed, shaking her head.

Alena gave a laugh. "You should feel worse for her," She shot at Rayna. "She's attracted AND related to that."

With the ID card that Selphie had retrieved from one of her victims, the group had free passage all around the base. In these uniforms as long as they acted normal then they were unnoticed. That was always the one bad thing about having uniforms with helmets. A set of maintenance soldiers had given them a message to pass on to a few other members, like morons, and it gave them an entrance to the Missile Launch Bay.

"These guys really are stupid, aren't they?" Keiran whispered to his sister.

"It seems so." She nodded.

He gave a grin. "I hope Squall's having a worse time than we are."

Rayna glared at him. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Because I hate him."

"Lucia would be upset with you if she heard you say that." She tsk'ed her brother.

He raised a brow. "What makes you say that? Lucia hates him as much as I do."

"Do you really think that she would struggle to save Squall as much as she had at the prison if she really hated him?"

Keiran thought about what his sister had told him before giving a curse. "Dammit, are you serious?! She's got a thing for that…that emo-brat!?"

Rayna gave a shrug. "I don't know for sure. Maybe she just didn't want anyone to die."

"That better be the reason, or I'mma kill him myself, dammit!"

The group found themselves at the Launch Control Room. Selphie and Quistis were standing over the control panel, conversing about what they should do.

"Ahh, just hit a few buttons," Selphie smiled, moving into position. "Here goes nothing!"

Alena raised a brow when nothing happened. "That's…odd."

"Selphie, step back," Zell told the woman at the panel. "Let someone smart take care of this."

Selphie glared at him. "Are you saying you're smarter than me?"

"No," Zell shook his head with a small smile as he tossed a thumb over his shoulder. "I was talking about Rayna."

Quistis gave a nod, understanding. After all, Rayna Heartilly was the smartest student of the Balamb Garden. "Do you think you can figure this out?"

"I can try," Rayna moved forward. "But I'm not making any promises." Selphie took a step back and let the other woman 'work her magic'.

"Destroy everything!" Selphie encouraged her as Rayna's fingers worked across the control panel.

Keiran's eyebrows rose at the speed of his sister's fingers. "When the hell did you learn to do that?"

"You learn things when you pay attention in class, Keiran." Rayna paused and she pressed a final button on the panel. "I need the next control panel outside the missile launch bay," She told them as the lights went out."

"What the hell?!" Zell cried.

"I did that," Rayna told them, hurrying to the door. "Now let's go."

Zell, Keiran, and Alena got caught up with the Galbadian soldiers, leaving the other three at the launch panel.

"Now, any idea how to work with this?" Quistis asked as she and Selphie looked over her shoulders.

"No, but I can figure it out in no time." She feel silent again as her eyes skimmed over the words on the screen as the ID card let her into the system. She was lucky. It led her through the tactics like one would teach a child.

~You would think that these people were smarter than this,~ But she needed a special authorization code to set a new target. ~Ah, it seems that I've spoken too soon,~ She grinned to herself. ~So, instead, let's take a different route.~ Instead of setting a new target, Rayna set the Error Ratio; to maximum.

"There, that should do it." Her eyes ran down the screen as it showed her more information.

"This is the kind where you set the coordinates," Selphie commented, looking with her.

"Yes. With the error ratio at maximum," Rayna began to explain. "It'll lower the chances of a direct hit. I need the authorization code to change it completely and it would take too much time to hack the computer to find it. Now if I had another computer and were outside of the base, I could it for sure. But this is the best chance we got in our situation."

"Squall and the others will get there in time to save Balamb," Quistis confirmed. "I just know it."

"Lurena won't let anything happen to Garden, no doubt about that." Keiran voiced as the trio joined back up with them. "Now, what are we going to do next?"

"_Attention. This is the control room. We are now entering the final phase of the missile launch. Take your designated positions and prepare for the launch!"_

A quick grin spread across Rayna's face and she hurried up the path back to the control room, knocking the guard out of her way.

Three officers were there inside, the man in red turning to face her and the others. "What are you doin in here!?"

"We've come to report on the missile coordinates!" Selphie began with a salute before the others could speak.

"All six of you?" The man asked.

"Sextuplets, sir." Alena thought quickly. "Never apart; even for a moment. Especially not while on the job."

The man glared at the group. "We don't have a set of twins in our base! You're intruders! No use hiding it now!"

"Ugh, I don't have time for this!" Rayna shoved past them to the Control Panel, leaving the other five to take care of beating the hell out of the enemy soldiers. She began to work as fast as she had before and a large grin cracked across her face as she got what she was looking for.

"I hope this means something good," Alena commented, a hand on her hip as she stood behind her.

"Yes and no. We've got…10 minutes to get the hell out of here before the entire base explodes."

Everyone stared at her like she was a moron. "ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Keiran roared at his sister. "What is wrong with you!?"

"You wanna stand here and argue about or you want to get the hell out of here?" Selphie placed her hands on his back and shoved him out the door. "Let's move, slowpoke!"

"Nice idea," Zell smiled at the woman beside him as the alarm went off. "But how about a little warning next time?" She just gave a grin.

"Dammit!" Keiran growled as they ran outside. The missiles launched just as they ran down the road. "You better have a damn good plan, Leonhart!"

"God dammit." Quistis cursed as she paused to a halt at the scene blocking their exit from the base. The Captain in red stood there before them with a battle tank: BGH251F2.

"There's no way I'm letting you all live! It would be inexcusable to Sorceress Edea! I don't want to suffer her wrath!"

"I would be a little more worried about her boyfriend," Rayna commented. "What was his name? Loon? Lunce?"

"Lucas," Keiran replied. "And the next time I'm gonna see him, I'm gonna beat the hell out of him for even thinking about laying a hand on Lucia!"

"Stand back, you guys," Alena told them, stepping in front of them and towards the battle tank. "We don't have time to play so let me handle these morons and get us the hell out of here."

"You think you can take that on by yourself?" Selphie asked in shock.

The woman gave a wink over her shoulder as she lifted up a large, yellow orb in her hand. "Who said anything about myself?" Tossing the jewel high into the air, Alena shot it with her gun, shattering it into pieces. "Quezacotl!" Thunder spread out across the sky before the large yellow and green creature revealed itself in the air, striking its power thunder attack against the battle tank. Quistis and Rayna decided to join in and both casted their own thunder magic on the tank, shattering it into its own pieces.

"Not bad," Kieran grinned. "Now let's get the hell out of here!"

"How?" Quistis asked. "We're locked in."

"The hell we are!" He looked at them. "Don't give up just yet. Squall and the others are waiting for us to get back to them so let's go."

"But how?" Selphie asked.

"Lady, I am Keiran-fuckin'-Heartilly. No one nor anything can keep my ass locked in a cage!"

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	13. Chapter 12

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**Return to Balamb Garden**_

"**Hey, looks like everything's alright!" **Rinoa's voice ripped Lucia out of her prayers for Keiran and the others to be safe at the Missile Base.

"Quistis and the others must have gotten there in time." Lurena gave a sigh of relief.

"With Alena there, of course they did." Irvine grinned.

~Still,~ Squall told himself. ~The missiles could be on their way.~ He turned back to the other. "We have to report to the headmaster. Come on."

"Then let's go," Lucia moved forward, a small smile spreading across her face. Balamb Garden was her home so it was nice to finally return here after all this crap that had happened since Rinoa had showed herself. Her smile faded when they came upon a shouting Faculty member.

"Find the headmaster!" The members of the Garden were all running over the place, searching.

~What's going on?~ Squall asked himself. ~Are they evacuating?~

"Seize him! Kill him if you have to! Go!"

"What?!" Lucia and Lurena both cried out. "What in the hell is going on?"

"I'm not sure," Squall began. "But we better find Cid before they d-"

"You five, which side are you on?" One of the Faculty approached them. "Answer the question! Are you with the Garden Master, or are you with Cid!?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about," Squall began.

Lucia looked to her sister as Squall dealt with the man. "Something serious must have happened while we were gone."

"Yes. But who is NORG?" Lurena rubbed her chin. "None of this is making any sense. We need to find someone to tell us what's going on." Her next words were cut off by a whistle being blown and an attack breaking out.

"Are you kidding me?" Rinoa cried.

"Just stay out of the way," Lucia told her. "Irvine, watch her. The three of us got this."

"If you say so," The cowboy grinned. They didn't have to wait too long.

"We have to find Headmaster Cid," Lurena told Squall.

"Yes," He agreed and hurried further into the Garden.

"Raijin!" Lucia called out. "Fujin!" Maybe they could get some answers out of them.

"Hey! You're back!" Raijin smiled.

"What's going on here?" Squall asked them.

Raijin shook his head with a frown. "I dunno. At first, they were sayin' somethin' 'bout roundin' up the SeeDs, ya know!? Now, everyone's either sidin' with the Garden Master or the headmaster and fightin' everywhere, ya know!?

Fujin gave a frown. "DISTURBING."

"Disappointin' for the disciplinary committee. All our work for nothin', ya know!?"

"Why are SeeDs being targeted? And where's the headmaster? Is he safe?" Lurena questioned.

Raijin shook his head. "We got no clue."

"We need to see him right away," Squall told them. "It's important. Galbadian missiles may be heading this way."

"WHAT!?" Raijin shouted. "We gotta get outta here!" Fujin turned and gave him a swift kick. "OOOUUCH! Geez, alright!" He turned back to the group. "We'll warn everyone about the missiles! Man, this is no time to be fightin', ya know!?"

"Leave finding the headmaster to us," Lucia nodded.

"CAUTION!" Fujin told her.

Raijin nodded. "Yeah, the fightin' is intense everywhere! And watch out for those Garden Master goons, ya know!"

"Hey," Rinoa took a step forward. "Who do you support?"

"Headmaster or Garden Master?" Irvine asked.

Raijin gave a shrug. "Hey, jus' like Fujin said, ya know!? We're with Seifer. Always have, always will." They turned and hurried off. Lurena hung her head, wondering if the young man was still alright now that he had…

~Seifer…He's sided with the sorceress. You guys alright with that?~ Squall thought to himself.

"Let's go, guys." Lucia grabbed Squall's arm and pulled his down the hall. "We gotta find Cid before the others do!"

More of the Garden Master's goons attacked them but none of them were in the mood for fighting and just tore through them like they were paper. Their first stop was Cid's office. He wasn't there, just four SeeDs.

"The headmaster isn't here. We're fortifying this area to make them believe that he's in here."

"If they attacked us all at once, there's no way we could hold them off, even if we are SeeDs."

"Basically, we're cutting them off, making them spread themselves thin."

"Well, it wasn't my idea."

"Who came up with it?" Squall asked them.

"Xu."

"Xu's all right?" Lurena gave a breath of relief.

"Yes. She took charge immediately when this whole thing began."

Irvine sighed. "Where else could he be?"

"Well, if all the monsters are running around, why not the training grounds?" Lucia asked.

"Good idea," Squall told her, taking off.

What they found made them all mad.

"Over here! She's one of the headmaster's SeeDs!"

"The junior classmen are with her. Don't let them escape."

They had chased down a SeeD with two children.

"I'm gonna fight, too!" The boy growled.

"Heh heh heh," the teen chuckled as he moved forward. "This should be interesting."

The boy jumped forward and kicked the older one in the crotch. Down he went. "Ha! That's a little something that Rayna taught me!"

"Why you little-"

"I don't think so!" Lucia cried as she jumped in between them.

Squall followed. "You'll have to get past us first."

"Another one of Cid's followers!? DIE!"

More monsters attacked, this time a T-Rexaur. A bit harder than the others but Lurena took it down no problem. After all, she had been doing this for years.

"Whoo, I owe you guys." The SeeD gave a sigh of relief. "I'll buy you a drink next time, Lucia."

"I'll hold you to that." Lucia smiled.

The Headmaster wasn't here in the grounds, either, so they had to search the rest of the Garden as well. They didn't find Cid, but they ended up helping Dr. Kadowaki in the infirmary.

"What is all this faction mumbo jumbo?" the doctor asked. "It's ridiculous."

"You're telling me," Lurena sighed. "I have no idea what's going on here. We're just looking for Cid."

"Well, as you can see, he's not here."

"Do you have any idea?" Squall asked.

"Hmm…Xu might know. I have no idea where she is, though. Why are you looking for him, anyway?"

Squall took a breath. "I need to inform him that there may be missiles heading this way. You should get out of here, too."

The Doctor jumped from the chair. "Are you serious!? Then I'm definitely gonna have to stay. If anybody gets hurt, who's gonna look after them?"

"Are you sure?" Lucia asked him.

"I'll be fine. Go do your task." The Doctor told them.

They found Xu heading up in the elevator and followed after her, not intent of falling behind. They ran around the hall.

"Xu!" Lurena cried out, running to her friend.

The woman turned. "Lurena! You're back! Are you all…" She paused. "Whose side are you on!?"

"Neither," Squall decided to answer before the other teacher could. "We have urgent news. We need to see the headmaster now. Where is he?"

"…I'm listening."

"Galbadian missiles may be heading this way." Lucia told her.

"Here?!"

"Yes."

"All right, I'll inform him right away."

"Where is her?" Squall asked.

"In his office," Xu answered. "We made it look like he's hiding, but he's been there all along."

"So, you mean that we just ran around this entire freakin; place and he was in his office the whole time?" Lucia pulled a face. "Dammit."

Xu gave a laugh. "Follow me." And back to Cid's office they went, Xu left them there to talk to him, going off to tell everyone to evacuate.

"Sir." Squall, Lucia, and Lurena all gave a salute to the Headmaster.

Cid nodded. "Xu told me about the missiles. The intercom is down so we can't announce the order to evacuate. Xu, Raijin, and Fujin are taking care of that. I want you to assist them and then evacuate."

~There's something in his head he's going over,~ Lucia told herself. ~I can tell it's wearing him out~

"But we have a lot to report." Squall told him.

Cid shook his head. "You can tell me later. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Sir, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to stay here and see this to the end. After all, this place is like my home."

"No! You can't!" Rinoa cried out but Lucia cut her off.

"And it isn't ours?" she demanded. "We all live here, Cid. We've been here for years. It's just as much as our home as it is yours!"

Cid looked at the younger of the Sirea sisters before a smile spread across his face. "You can rest assured. I am just going to try something. There still may be a way to save the Garden." He moved a few feet before falling to his knees. Lurena moved quickly and helped him up. "Heh heh…I'm too old for this."

"Then let us handle this, sir." Lurena told him. "What are you planning?"

Taking in the words that her sister had said moments ago, Cid gave in. "this building used to be a shelter, long before it was remodeled into the Garden as we know it." He pulled out a key and gave it to Lurena. "Use this to open the lock on the elevator. It will give you access to the MD level. Rumor has it that further below the MD level, there is some kind of control system. It was used when this place was still a shelter, so I've never seen it. And I have no idea what it dies. All I know is that it was used for the shelter, so it might prove effective against the missiles. That's what I'm betting on."

"I understand," Squall gave another salute. "We'll find the control system and check it out."

Cid nodded. "Good luck to all of you."

Lucia stayed silent as they left the room but the moment they hit the elevator and used the key. She let out her fears. "But…but what if this panel does nothing and what if the missiles really are on their way? We're gonna…"

"Don't worry, Lucia," Lurena grabbed her sister's shoulder. "Everything's going to be fine." At that moment the elevator jerked to a stop and the lights flickered on and off. "Wow. Go figure."

Squall thought for a moment before picking up the panel on the floor, revealing an exit. "Nobody's been here for a while, so be careful."

There was a ladder leading down so they moved quickly, hitting the MD level just in time as the elevator slammed down after them. The path they had to make was through an oil stratum and down to a room to open the valve. Irvine and Squall worked together to get the wheel turned to open up the next path with another ladder.

"How far down is this damn thing?" Irvine complained.

"Too far if you ask me," Lurena sighed.

Making down to a dead end, they had to climb another ladder up in the middle of the room and as Squall climbed, the Ladder broke off, leaning backwards. Lucia gripped on for dear life and gave a grunt as she and Squall busted through the glass of the control room they needed and hit the floor.

"Lucia, Squall, you all right?" Lurena called up.

Lucia pushed herself up to her feet, rubbing her bum. "Yeah, just fine." She glanced at the panel she stood beside. "Now, what to do here. Eny-meny-miny-mo, right?" She glanced at Squall. He nodded and began to mess with things. The floor beneath them disappeared, opening another passage. "Are you serious? Is that it? Really?"

Squall gave a soft laugh, though only to himself as they both carefully climbed back down to the others and the new path.

"I want to get a raise after we're done with all this," Lurena hissed as they climbed down yet another ladder.

"I want a vacation." Lucia told her, throwing a switch to opened another door. AS they moved to the doors, though, two strange creatures popped up to attack.

"Hey, Calamari!" Irvine smiled, pulling out his gun.

Fire was a good attack against these freaks so Squall's Renzokuken skill came as a big help here, as did some of the magic they each held. It was easy to say though, that if they didn't have fire, this would have been one of the hardest fights since the giant machines during the exam about a month ago; next to the fight with the Sorceress and Seifer.

"We have to hurry. They might be coming any minute now." Squall growled, running past the bodies of the creatures. They all moved after him, in a hurry to see if the Garden was capable of saving itself from the missiles.

"Looks like we finally made it."

"What are we supposed to do here?" Rinoa asked, gazing up at the structure before them.

"Let's go figure it out." Lucia moved forward. "The Headmaster doesn't know how to do it, so we're gonna have to wing it from here. Oh, Rayna, why aren't you here? We could really use you right now!" She glanced over as Squall. "Do you want to do it, or shall I?" He just stared at her and so she turned back and began to press buttons and move everything that she could. The Garden gave a jerk and she jumped back as the structure before them began to light up and turn.

"You broke it, didn't you?!" Irvine cried.  
"No! At least…I hope not." Lucia bit her bottom lip.

"No, she didn't. It…it's working. It's doing something!" Lurena sounded confused. "But what is it doi-" She gave out a small yelp as the floor they were standing on bolted thought the Garden and placed them in the Headmaster's office again.

The entire Garden shook has a bright light flooded over them. Dirt shot up around it and as they watched, the Garden was turned into some type of aircraft.

"No way!" Irvine gasped.

"Missiles incoming!" Squall cried.

Lucia grabbed the handles again and gave a sharp jerk. Everyone went with the ship, but they dodged the missiles, leaving a huge cloud of dirt behind them.

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	14. Chapter 13

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

_**NORG**_

"**I didn't know that the Garden could fly," **Lurena sounded amazed as her sister loosened her hands and just let the flying object soar gracefully through the sky.

"This must be the secret," Cid commented. "I wonder what's going on below with the others."

"I bet they're pissing themselves," Lucia replied, rubbing a hand over her face.

"Let's go take a look, shall we?" Irvine smiled, stepping onto the platform. "Gotta make sure everyone's okay, after all."

It was nice outside, like sticking your head out of a car as it moved through the area. The fighting all seemed to come to an end for the moment and everyone was on talking grounds again. Until Xu ran up to them and announced that something was going on with the headmaster and they hurried back to the room they had just left. It seemed that the Headmaster didn't know how to control the new and improved Garden and they were heading straight towards Balamb.

"How did you do it, Lucia?" Lurena asked her sister.

Lucia shrugged her shoulders. "I just grabbed the bars and pulled." She glanced at the keyboard. ~Where's Rayna when you need her?~ She asked herself as she decided to take ahold of the sticks again. Nothing happened this time an so she began to press buttons. What else could she really do? This was better than nothing and in the end, Irvine gave a huge cheer when the Garden decided to turn. The ship did fall into the sea, though, but it was better than the town. At least here they could float.

"Good job, Lucia," Cid smiled, clapping a hand on her back. "All of you. I think the worst is behind us for now."

"Where are we heading?" Squall decided to ask.

"We'll drift along for the time being…until we figure out how to maneuver the Garden," Cid answered him with another sigh of relief. "So, it looks like we can finally relax for a while and spend some time considering what to do next." The elder man then hung his head. "So much for my room. Where am I going to change now?"

The group split up for the rest of the day to do their own thing. Lurena stayed behind to help the Headmaster learn how to work the new controls and Lucia had gone to her room to rest; much like Squall had done to his own. That next morning, Lucia refused to get out of bed at all and had been lying there, staring at the ceiling as she thought over everything that had happened. With Seifer. With the Sorceress. With Lucas. With the missile base; they hadn't heard from the others since the prison. She hoped they were okay.

As she sat there, talking to herself, her phone went off, the song announcing that it was her sister.

"Is something wrong?" Lucia asked as she answered it.

"_I…well…just get up here, please."_

As the call cut off, Lucia stared at it in confusion for a moment before pushing herself up to her feet. Her sister sounded…strange. Something had to have happened. Perhaps they found something out about the controls and needed some help, it being too hard to explain over the phone. Moving out of the dormitories, she paused as she found Squall walking down the hall ahead of her, Rinoa following him with a smile as she talked to him. That made Lucia's bored look and feeling turn to one of anger.

Why did the thought, no, the sight, of this woman piss her off so bad? And when she was with Squall, too. Lurena hated Squall. She found him to be so annoying with his emo-tactics and the way he acted…it annoyed her to death but over the last month or so, since the beginning of all of this…

"Lucia," Squall's voice grabbed her attention from her thoughts and she glanced up to see that he had paused and turned to look back at her.

"What's up?" He lifted a hand before moving past them. Shoving her hands in her pockets, she continued to move; Squall and Rinoa followed her.

"Is something wrong?" The man asked her.

Why did he care? "I don't think so. Lurena just wanted me to come and talk to her."

"Has something happened?" Rinoa asked, jumping into the talk.

"I don't think so," Lucia shrugged as she moved towards the elevator. "But I'm about to go find out."

The elevator opened up, revealing Irvine already standing there. "Hey ladies!" He grinned and then noticed the other man there. "and Squall."

"Hello," Lucia smiled at him, getting on. Squall and Rinoa followed.

"And where are you going?" Irvine asked her with a smile. "If it's not important, then how about you and I go catch something to eat?"

"No thanks," She told him. "I've got something to take care of." She then glanced at Squall. "Are you following me?"

"Better to be there in case something happens then to hear about it afterwards." He answered her simply. Rinoa crossed her arms with a huff. She and Squall had apparently been going to do something together; Lucia turned her face away to hide her smirk.

"Please! Listen to me!" Cid's voice broke the silence and heightened everyone's senses.

"Get your hands off!" Lurena's voice cut through and then Lucia took off, just in time to catch Cid as he was thrown back.

Cid didn't even seem to notice her and the others. "Greedy son-of-a-bitch! Why did I even bother talking to you! SeeDs were brought up for the future! And that future is now! Why can't you understand!?"

"'Cause he's an idiot!" Lurena growled, her hands on her hips. "and NORG has always been an idiot."

Lucia's eyes narrowed. NORG. This man was Keiran's number-one enemy on the Garden. This man seemed to have a thing for stalking the said man. This man in the yellow hat must have worked for him.

"Dammit! I never should have trusted you! I wish I could go back ten years or so to tell myself that you're nothing but a money grubbing son-of-a-bitch! Then I would've never built this place."

"What happened?" Lucia asked, taking steps closer.

"About time you got here," Lurena sighed, placing her hand on her hip again.

"…You heard everything?"

"Kinda hard not to," Lurena replied to the Headmaster.

Cid turned and hung his head. "I'm embarrassed, but sometimes even old men like me lose their temper. Come on, let's get out of here."

"Sir, I still have my report to give," Squall called to him.

Cid shook his head. "Please come to my office later."

"Oh, and, um, Dr. Kadowaki wants you to go to the infirmary. She sounded very serious." Squall told him

Cid gave a cheeky grin. "Heh heh. Looks like I finally made her mad."

"What in the hell was that?" Irvine raised a brow at Lurena.

"A problem that we have to deal with," The woman replied, turning her head to glance at the man in the yellow hat that had moved closer to them.

"You're the SeeDs who returned from Galbadia, correct?"

"Yes." Squall answered.

"It's about time. Master NORG has been waiting for you. Come."

"Should we follow him?" Irvine asked.

"I wanna see what he has to say," Lucia admitted. "Let's go." These last few days had NOT been the day to mess with the silent 16-year-old. She was growing tired of all of the shit that had been happening. Lucas may have been a huge cause to that.

They had followed the Garden Faculty to some type of small ship where they were attacked by two orbs and a pod from inside it.

~This is the Garden Master?~ Squall asked in shock. ~The proprietor of the Garden? He's not human? Come to think of it, we didn't know anything about him…What a shock.~

"GIVE YOUR REPORT ON THE SORCERESS." NORG called down to them.

Squall gave a sigh. ~Now where do I start?~

Lurena placed a hand on his shoulder before taking a step forward. "the mission to assassinate Sorceress Edea was no accomplished. We received the order at Galbadia Garden and Irvine Kinneas and Alena Mythal joined our party. We set off to carry out the orders of Balamb and Galbadia's orders but-"

That seemed to set NORG off. "Bujururururu! BALAMB AND GALBADIA ORDERS!? Bujururururu! YOU WERE FOOLED!"

"What do you mean?" Lucia asked him.

The Garden Faculty decided to explain it to them. "Master NORG has known about the alliance between the President of Galbadia and the sorceress. He heard it from the Galbadia Garden master himself."

"The Galbadia Garden Master…?" Squall repeated.

"THE MASTER OF GALBADIA GARDEN IS A SUBORDINATE OF MINE NAMED MARTINE."

"Yes. In fact the sorceress and Garden are closely connected. That is why the sorceress will definitely try to gain hold of all Gardens. So, Master NORG sent an official order to Galbadia Garden. It was to kill the sorceress. An assassination was thought to be the best means."

"But…"

"Bujururururu! THAT SLY WEASEL MARTINE USED YOU AS A LAST RESORT FOR THE ASSASSINATION. HE GAVE THAT ORDER TO PLACE THE BLAME ON ME! THAT…THAT BASTARD!"

"Are you saying that Balamb Garden had nothing to do with that order?" Squall demanded.

What the fuck was going on here?

"You just happened to show up just before the mission was to be carried out." The other man told them. "They used you."

Lucia turned her gaze to Irvine. He threw his hands up in defense. "Don't look at me, honey! I'm as surprised as you are."

"But the operation failed. The sorceress is still alive and the sorceress retaliated. Just as we suspected. No doubt, it was the sorceress who ordered the missile attacks."

~Are you sure about that?~ Lucia asked herself with a frown. ~That man, Lucas, seems like he could take care of a Garden on his own.~

"Something must be done to calm the sorceress' anger." The man continued. "In order to do so, we need to hand over those involved in the assassination

To the sorceress. We had to show Balamb Garden's sincerity."

"Wait a minute, that's just-"

All of Lucia's conscious was gone as the group began to argue. If they were handed over to the Sorceress that would mean that she and Lucas would finally have their hands on her. The very thought of that man having her like he wanted would kill her. There was no way in hell she was going to let that happen!

"Why aren't we fighting the Sorceress?" Squall demanded. "What about all the training we endure every day? What good is it!?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"

"I think you heard him loud and clear, you yellow bastard!" Lurena cried.

"YOU LOST TO THE SORCERESS! QUIT YOUR WHINING!"

"Headmaster Cid was saying the same thing…"

"CID?! THAT IDIOT CID DISPATCHED SeeD TO KILL THE SORCERESS. AND IF YOU FAIL? THIS GARDEN WILL BE DONE FOR! MY GARDEN! IT WILL ALL BE OVER! THAT IDIOT CID. HAS HE FORGOTTEN THAT IT WAS I WHO PUT UP THE MONEY TO ESTABLISH GARDEN!? I WANTED TO OFFER THE SORCERESS CID'S HEAD ALONG WITH SeeD'S. I ORDERED THE STUDENTS TO FIND CID BUT THEY SIDED WITH HIM! Bujururururu! THIS IS MY GARDEN!"

"NO!" Squall cried out. "It's not just yours."

"Bujururururu! THEN WHAT IS IT!? IS IT CID'S AND EDEA'S!? THAT PATHETIC MARRIED COUPLE's?!"

"Say what?" Lucia cried out, eyes growing wide.

~The headmaster and Edea are married!? …I don't get it.~

"Bujururururu…NOW I UNDERSTAND. CID AND EDEA ARE TRYING TO TAKE GARDEN AWAY FROM ME. YOU'RE A SET OF CID'S FOLLOWERS AREN'T YOU!? PREPARE TO DIE!"

"Squall," Rinoa cried out.

"Stay out of our way!" Lurena told the younger woman as she and her sister whipped their swords out.

They had to attack the two blue orbs to knock aside NORG's attacks and after that they were free to crack open the middle pod to reveal the true NORG.

"Stay back, ladies," Irvine smiled as he stepped forward. "I'll take care of this sucker." They all watched as Irvine pulled out a blue orb and tossed it high into the air. Twirling his shotgun in his hand a few times, he took aim and fired, shattering the orb. A large, blue portal appeared in the air and a smooth, thin creature began to slither out of it like water.

"Leviathan?!" Lurena sounded shocked. "Where did you get that?"

"He belongs to Alena," The cowboy admitted. "She gave it to me right before we separated. Said that I might need him more than she did at the moment." They all watched as his attack took care of NORG. "And that is that. So, like…what's going on guys?"

"Forget about it for now," Squall replied.

"I can't believe you said that," Rinoa placed a hand on her hip. "I think what just happened is really serious."

"What's the point of talking about it now!?" Squall demanded. "You don't know what's going on, either!"

"Keep your nose out of it!" Lucia backed Squall up. "You're not even a SeeD so this has nothing to do with you anymore! Just go back to your daddy and stay there!" She turned to head back to the elevator. "Lurena, let's go see Cid. I want some damn answers!"

"Here, here," Her sister agreed, moving after her. She placed a comforting hand on the younger woman's shoulder as they left the trio behind. "Just calm down, Lucia. I know that this is all confusing and a pain, but everything will return to normal soon enough; I promise. I'll make sure of it, just for you." Lucia gave a sigh and stayed silent.

The trio followed them to the infirmary moments later. Lucia was wishing that Cid was there still talking to the Doctor and was glad when he was; he had been crying.

"You all see me in such an embarrassing state. Now, what shall we talk about?"

"How about NORG." Irvine offered first.

"He is from the Shumi tribe. A black sheep of the tribe, one might say. We met while I was running around trying to find funds to build the Garden. He became interested in building the Garden, and we hit it off. Thanks to his funding, it was completed. However, we needed an enormous amount of funds to run the Garden. So we began dispatching SeeDs around the world as a means of supporting the Garden. NORG's idea was right on the money. An enormous amount of capital began flowing into the Garden. And the Garden began to change," He hung his head. "Lost sight of our high ideals, the truth was covered up…that's probably enough. In the end, it was my fault for giving up control."

"What about Edea?" Lurena asked. "NORG told us that she was your wife. What's going on there?"

Cid flushed. "That's right. She had been a sorceress since childhood. I married her, knowing that. We were happy. We worked together, the two of us. We were very happy. One day, Edea began talking about building the Garden and training SeeD. I became obsessed with that plan. But I was very concerned with SeeD's goal, that one day SeeD might fight Edea…She laughed and told me that would never happen. However…"

"However what?" Lucia asked. "What happened?!" But it seemed that Cid didn't want to continue on with his tale so Squall pushed forward.

"Please tell me the real meaning of SeeD."

"SeeD is Seed. The elite mercenary force of Balamb Garden. Hmmm, do you know something about SeeD?"

"Well, considering that we just killed NORG down below, no I don't think we know anything; truthful, anyway." Lucia grunted, crossing her arms.

"You…killed him?" Cid repeated her in shock. His answer was silence and he stared at them for a moment before shaking his head. "SeeD will defeat the sorceress. The Garden will train SeeD members. The many missions around the world are only training for the final battle against the sorceress. But now that the sorceress has become a major threat, our true mission has begun."

"Then what do we do now?" Lucia asked him, her voice calmer now.

"We must stop drifting around soon…I can only hope that we can get things back to the way they were."

"Well that was helpful," Lurena sighed, shaking her head as they headed for the lobby. "Sometimes I wonder in Cid even knows what to do anymore."

"Well, think about it, Edea is his wife," Irvine replied. "Could you stand sending men out to kill the one you loved?"

Lurena paused as Seifer popped up into her mind. She gave a small smile. "No, I don't think that I could."

"Lurena! Lurena!" The woman turned at her name to find Xu running up to them. "Have you seen the headmaster around?"

"He's at the infirmary," Squall answered her.

"Sounds like trouble." Rinoa commented. "What's wrong?"

"Go to the deck on the second floor and see for yourself," She tossed over her shoulder as she moved on. "There's a ship approaching."

Could it be the sorceress?" Rinoa asked.

"No, she's already attack if it was," Lucia replied as they got on the elevator. ~And we already would have seen Lucas.~

There was a ship, a Galbadian ship, approaching them and it brought a frown over all their faces. A trio on the ship spotted the group and called over.

"Is Headmaster Cid up there with you?"

"No, he's not. Are you from…Galbadia?" Squall called back.

"We are SeeDs! This is Edea's ship. We are Sorceress Edea's SeeD! We're coming aboard. We're unarmed!"

"Like hell you are!" Lucia called back. "Take one step up here and I'll cut your damn head off!"

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	15. Chapter 14

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

_**Fisherman Horizon**_

"**Please.** We come in peace," the man told her as he and the other two jumped up to level themselves with them. Squall had pulled his Gunblade out. "We must speak to Headmaster Cid. Where is he?"

"I'm right here." Cid announced his arrival. "Lucia, Squall, it's all right." Both of them lowered their weapons.

"Headmaster, we've come for Ellone. It's too dangerous here now."

Cid gave a sigh. "…Yes, I'm afraid so."

Squall's eyes winded. ~Ellone? That girl from Winhill?~

Lucia recognized the name as well. ~Is he talking about the child from the dreams? The one that Laguna was with?~

"Squall," Cid turned. "Do you know who she is?"

"I might…"

"Please go find her. She's here somewhere in the garden."

~Who are these guys?~ Squall found himself asking. ~How are they connected?~

"Squall?"

"Sure, we'll go find her," Lucia nodded. "Come on, Lurena."

Lurena followed after her younger sister but paused in the hall. "Lucia, do you…have weird dreams sometimes. About a-"

"A man named Laguna?" Lucia glanced over her shoulder as Squall and the others joined them.

"I'll take that as a yes," Lurena chuckled. "Ellone, do you think, perhaps, she's the same one from the dreams? Just older?"

"Probably," Squall decided to answer for them.

"Do you know where she is?" Irvine asked, crossing his arms behind his head.

"Not a clue."

"Then I suggest we split up and look for her," Lurena replied. "I'll head to the room corridors."

"I'll check the food hall." Irvine told them before the duo took off.

"Hey, Squall, who's Ellone?" Rinoa asked.

"She's a person in the-"

"She's someone that the Headmaster is looking for apparently," Lucia cut the other teen off with a sharp look. "Just go ask around. You'll know when you find her because she'll look…out of place." Rinoa gave a frown before nodding her head and taking off down the hall. Lucia gave Squall another look. "You don't need to be telling her everything, Squall. She's already involved too much as it is. She's not a SeeD so our problems shouldn't involve her."

"Whether you like it or not, she seems to be involved anyway," Squall replied with a frown. "Why are you so angry about everything lately? Where's the quiet girl from class."

Lucia paused for a moment before giving a sigh. "Just go try and find Ellone, Squall. The sooner this is done with, the better."

Lucia walked away towards the classrooms, leaving Squall to do what he wanted. She knew why she was so angry lately. Their lives had been flipped upside down these last few days, ever since they got involved with Rinoa, actually. No, it had been since they were upgraded into SeeDs. She didn't want to tell Lurena that she didn't want to fight and keeping herself from doing so just made everything grow worse; especially since Lucas had tried to take her multiple times. His strength was immense and she knew that the next time they met, no matter what happened, he would most likely end up taking her. The question was what did they want her for?

~All of this is just too stressful,~ Lucia rubbed her temples.

She searched throughout the classrooms and didn't find the woman she was searching for, but she find out that she could be in the library from one of the teachers that had been in a conversation with the said woman earlier that day. Lucia hurried to the library just to find that the woman was already in a conversation with Squall.

"Ah, Lucia," Ellone smiled. "I should have known that you would have been right behind Squall. You always were."

Lucia raised a brow and exchanged a look with Squall. "Do I know you?"

"She is the one with Laguna," Squall told her.

"Then just what is it that we're going through?" Lucia asked her. "Is it like, his memories or something? And why are WE going through it?"

"I'm sorry," Ellone turned her head. "It's hard to explain." Both of them gave a sigh. "But…one thing…It is about the past."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out when they were in the war," Lucia crossed her arms. She was hoping for answers and these were just making things harder.

Ellone stood up from the chair and walked a few steps. "People say you can't change the past. But even still, if there's a possibility, it's worth a try, right?

~Change the past? Is she serious? Give me a break…~ Squall sighed to himself.

"And how in the world are we supposed to do that? Unless you were able to time travel or some-" Her voice stopped as it hit her. ~No, it couldn't be possible, could it?~ Ellone gave her a small smile. She opened her mouth to ask the question but Squall beat her to it.

"Are you the one responsible? Are you the one taking us to that 'dream world'!?"

"I'm sorry," Ellone hung her head.

~…Not again. So much I don't understand.~

"Ellone," Lucia's voice was soft. "Do you know anything about that man, Lucas?"

Her answer had not been what she was expecting. "Fighting him off will only prolong the inevitable."

"What?" It was Squall who responded though. "'Prolong the inevitable'? What kind of answer is that? We have enough problems as it is! Don't get us involved in this!"

"I'm sorry."

"Is that all you can say?" Lucia asked. Squall stumbled back to a chair and sat down as footsteps approached them.

"Squall," Xu called out. "Did you find Ellone?"

"What do you think?" Lucia growled. She turned from the other women as Ellone introduced herself before moving towards Squall. As Xu led the other woman away, Lucia glanced at her partner. "What did she say?"

Squall lifted his head. "You're my only hope."

_**~Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world**_

_**Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before**_

_**Let your soul take you where you long to be**_

_**Only then can you belong to me~**_

~Why do people depend on each other? In the end, you're on your own. I've made it this far by myself. Sure, I couldn't do a thing when I was a kid…I've depended on others, but…I'll be the first one to admit that I'm here because of other people.~ Squall laid an arm across his eyes as he laid in bed that next day. ~I'm fine by myself now. I have all the skills I need to survive. I'm not a child anymore.~ He curled up into a ball. ~That's a lie. I don't know anything. I'm confused. I don't want to depend on anyone. How can I do that? Someone tell me…Someone? So I'll end up depending on others after all.~

Squall jumped at the knock on his door. ~Who would be coming here?~ If it was Rinoa-

"Squall, are you in there?"

He stood up almost immediately and opened his door. "Lucia?"

The young woman stood there, rubbing her arm with a nervous look on her face. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, but I just didn't know where else to go."

"Is something wrong?" He took a step back from the door and let her in.

"Not…technically, just…" She took a seat on the edge of his bed. "I haven't heard anything from Kieran and the others. Nothing. I'm worried about what happened. Have they been caught? Are they on the run? And if they got out, they would be heading back towards the Garden and yet here we are, floating through the water."

As she spoke, Squall let a small smile peak on his lips. "You shouldn't worry about them Kieran can take care of himself and he won't let anything happen to those with him. Especially his sister."

Lucia gave a sigh. "I suppose you're right. It only has been two days. We'll hear from them again soon, I'm sure…" she pulled her knees up to her chin and rested her head. "Everything's just been so…falling apart, it seems."

"Don't let it get to you," He told her. "Everything'll be fine." ~Maybe I should listen to myself,~ He commented.

"_Hello everyone," _Cid's voice decided to greet them over the intercom. _"This is the headmaster speaking. The lines have been fixed, and I'm glad to be back on the air. Hurrah! UM?! WHOA!"_

"What is that man doing?" Lucia asked, raising a brow.

"Something tells me that I don't want to know." Squall sighed, hanging his head.

"_Squall! Lurena! This is the headmaster speaking! Please come to my office!"_

"Uh-oh," Lucia shook her head. "Calling for both you and my sister? That's never good."

"Never," Squall agreed and he led the way from his room and to the office. Lurena was already there. "What happened?"

"Cid here decided to collide into Fisherman's Horizon."

"Are you serious?" Lucia demanded.

"I said that I was sorry." Cid sounded like a child as he whined. "Here are your orders. We've landed on Fisherman's Horizon. I want the three of you to go ashore. Please find the local mayor and apologize for this accident. Tell them that we come in peace. Take a look around the city while you're there, too."

Squall went to share a look with Lucia but caught himself. "…Yes, sir."

Cid noticed. "Do you have something that you want to tell me?"

"…No."

"SeeD is not just a special force for combat. I want you to see the world to broaden your horizons. I have high expectations of. Both of you." He looked at Lucia. She gave a small smile. "Now go."

"Am I the only one that gets the feeling that we're servants?" Lucia asked.

Lurena laughed at her sister as they got off the elevator. "Now, now, everything'll be fine. Now let's hurry and go before Irvine and Rinoa find us. The easiest way out will be the 2nd floor deck. They were being waited for.

"We've come to warn you before you go ashore," The man began. "Do not engage in any type of armed conflict in the city. We do not tolerate belligerence here."

"Won't be a problem," Lurena decided to take control. "The three of us are the adults in Balamb Garden, so we know how to behave."

The man gave a nod and then let them pass. "Welcome to Fisherman's Horizon. We just call it FH. "You should go visit the mayor. His house is in the middle of the city."

"Thank you," Lurena nodded. "Come on guys."

Squall gave a blink. "I'm sorry," He told them men before them. "It was inevitable…we lost control of the Garden."

"Nah, don't worry about it. What's important is that nobody got hurt. We love fixing stuff anyway." Lucia gave a laugh before moving after her sister. "Kick back and enjoy your stay!"

"Shall we?" Lurena asked, leading the way into the city. It wasn't that hard to find the mayor's house and the people here were really, really nice to them, despite what had just happened.

The mayor wasn't too happy, though.

"Allow me to get to the point," Mayor Dobe began. "When are you leaving?"

"…We'll leave as soon as the Garden is capable of moving." Squall answered.

"Any idea when?"

"I'm afraid not," Lurena shook her head. "It was only a short while ago that we even discovered the Garden to be mobile. We are not thorough with its controls just yet."

"Our technicians will assist you. They should be able to repair and service everything. How does that sound?" They were silent for a moment. The mayor sighed. "Go consult with your leader if you don't have the authority. Do hurry. We believe your presence here will attract violence. That's why we want you to leave as soon as possible."

Squall stood. "Let's go back to Garden."

"That was fast and easy," Lurena smiled.

"Unpleasant, though." Her sister sighed.

"Forget it." Squall told them both. "You can't expect everyone to welcome us."

"Yeah, I suppose no-"

"GALBADIAN SOLDIERS!"

At the cry, all three of them halted on the bridge. "Are you serious? They're here already?" Lurena demanded.

"Are they after us STILL?" Lucia asked.

"With the Sorceress on their side, yes," Squall sighed.

"You!" the trio turned to see that the Mayor and the woman with him had chased after them. "The Galbadians are here because of you, right? They're after you."

Lucia turned her back. "Who knows?" She shrugged.

"You'd better take full responsibility! It's your fault!" The woman cried.

"Hey, aren't you the ones who just commented on us being to violent?" Lurena asked. "Well, Galbadia is much worse. Welcome to the real world, sweetheart."

"We mustn't rely on them. They won't be able to do anything without fighting," Dobe replied.

~Don't tell me he's going to try to reason with them,~ Squall sighed as he mayor walked away. ~He's dead.~

"Dammit," Lurena sighed. "We can't just let him go off like that."

"So we follow him?" Squall asked.

"What other choice do we have?" Lucia asked, running after him. The three of them ignored the town and just kept their sights on what happened next.

"I already told you," Dobe cried out. "I've never heard of this girl Ellone. There is nobody here by that name."

"Her again," Lucia frowned. "What the hell is going on?"

"Fine," the Galbadian soldier smirked. "We'll just have to torch this city."

"Wait a minute! I'm telling you the truth! I've never seen this girl!" The mayor cried.

The Soldier laughed. "It doesn't matter, old man. We're gonna burn this place anyway. Edea's orders. Ha ha ha."

"No, please! I beg of you! Don't!"

"I'll start with you." He lifted the mayor up by the throat.

"Let him go, metal-head!" Lucia growled, whipping her blade out. Squall and Lurena followed her.

The soldier raised a brow. "Who the hell are you?"

"We're SeeDs," Squall answered.

"SeeDs! Get the Iron Clad over here!" The man called out to his men.

"I'm sorry," Squall called out to the mayor. "But we have no choice."  
"Let's just get this over with," Lurena told him as more soldiers dropped in to fight.

"Why are Galbadian troops always so easy?" Lucia asked.

"Because they keep you waiting for things like that to arrive!" Her sister cried out. A huge machine, the BGH251F2, decided to break out on them and make the battle worse. It took a little while to take care of but when Squall used his Renzokuken, the battle was over.  
Or so they thought. The machine began to move again.

"No way," Lucia growled, clutching her sword tighter.

"Get ready," Lurena cried. "Here it comes!"

The gun on the top of if lifted-and then the hatch popped open.

"S'up, bitches?"

Lucia let her sword and mouth drop open at the sight of the head sticking up out of the robot. "Kieran!"

"That's right, ladies and Gent," Kieran grinned as he flipped to the ground. "The high and mighty Kieran has returned."

"Shut it, will you?" Rayna hissed as she climbed out herself. "I would like a moment's peace before you begin your crap again." Lucia gave a giggle and ran to her friend, pulling her into a tight grip. Rayna gave a chuckle. "I missed you too, Lucia."

"I do hope that you took care of my ladies while I was away, Leonhart." Kieran looked at the other man. Squall gave a snort and turned his head.

Quistis, Zell, Selphie, and Alena all crawled out of the robot themselves just in time to have it slide backwards into the water.

"I'm glad that all of you are okay," Lurena smiled. "You had me worried there for a little while."

"We were worried about you guys, too." Quistis told her friend. "What happened to the Garden?" She asked.

"It's a long story," Lucia smiled.

"The Garden is safe," Squall told them. "So what happened to you guys?"

"Let's save that for later," Alena replied. "I want a bath and something to drink."

"Amen to that," Selphie smiled.

"I third that," Zell nodded.

"I'll take you guys back," Lurena nodded. "I'm sure Cid would like to know that you're all safe."

As everyone followed after Lurena, Lucia turned back to glance at Squall. He still stood there, staring at where the robot had been. "Hey, you all right?" He glanced at her for a moment before glancing away again. "Ahh, I get it. You're embarrassed because you were happy to see them, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked her.

She gave a laugh. "Despite your negative aura, you're really actually kinda sweet, Squall. Maybe you should try to be like that more. It'll get people to like you better."

"I'm not here to get people to like me," He commented.

"Yeah, yeah," She waved a hand at him and she turned to follow after them. "I am glad to know that they're safe. It was different without having them all here with us." She glanced at him again. "Come on, let's go back. I'm sure that they have one hell of a story to tell us!"

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	16. Chapter 15

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

_**Confusion**_

"**And so, I kicked its ass. **Stupid robot thought that it could take me on? I taught it better."

"Shut up, Kieran," Rayna told her brother. "Alena was the one that took care of the robot and you know it."

Kieran gave a sigh and turned his head. Lucia laughed. "I'm sure you all played your little part. Besides, we all know that you're the strongest in Balamb Garden." Kieran gave her a large smile.

"Yeah, but Alena's from Galbadia Garden." Zell decided to stick his nose in. Kieran's head immediately dropped as his sister and the blond teen laughed at him.

"Aww, stop teasing him, you guys!" Quistis chuckled.

Lucia held the largest smile on her face in days. Everything felt back to normal now that the others were all back and safe. There was no need to worry about anything at the moment; she was trying her hardest to keep the Sorceress and her little boyfriend out of her mind right now. Be at ease for at least one night, right?

Selphie was off somewhere with Alena and Irvine at the moment and Lurena was busy talking to Cid, for sure. Squall was…most likely in his room and Rinoa, well, Lucia didn't care what that girl was up to.

At that moment, Cid called for Squall to come up to his office. Lucia turned and went to stand but Rayna caught her.

"So, what happened here while we were gone? Besides the Garden being turned into a plane."

~Squall can do this on his own, can't he? Besides, he was called, not me~ Lucia sat down with her smile and began to retell what happened when they two groups had split up.

"Sometimes, I wonder how that old man even became our Headmaster," Kieran shook his head.

"Of everything that she just told us, THAT'S all you have to say?" Zell demanded. "We just learned that Headmaster Cid is married to the Sorceress! You know, the one causing all this trouble?!"

"Hey, I give him props," Kieran grinned. "The chick's a hottie; even if she is evil."

Quistis gave a frown. "Her little friend's not too bad, either. What was his name? Lance?"

"Lucas." Lucia replied before she knew it; she pulled a face.

"Ah, that's it!" Quistis took her eyes and took a drink from her glass as Kieran pulled his own displeased look. "I wouldn't mind getting to know him a little better. Too bad he's the enemy."

"Is that right?" Kieran hissed through clenched teeth.

Rayna shook her head at her brother and her friend before glancing over at Lucia. She had hung her head, staring at the table as she thought quietly to herself. She and Zell exchanged a look. Both of them had a good idea what the girl was thinking about. When you had someone that strong chasing after you, you had a good reason to be worried.

"Lucia,"

Rayna's voice was cut off by Cid's flowing from the intercom.

"_I have important news that I must share with all of you. The Garden is being repaired right now. We'll leave FH immediately after it's finished. We're going on a journey."_

"A journey?" Zell turned his head. Rayna could see the excitement running through his eyes, despite the curiosity in his voice.

"_This is a journey to defeat the sorceress. Garden will now be used as a mobile base. The administration of Garden will be run by myself and the staff, as usual. This journey will involve many battles. A well-qualified leader is needed for this. Therefore, I am appointing Squall Leonhart as your new leader."_

"WHAT?!" Everyone at that table shouted out; Kieran had his drink come spewing out his nose.

"From now on, Squall will be the leader, Lurena Sirea his second-in-command. The two of them will decide our destination and battle place."

"Lurena, I can understand," Quistis began. "But Squall? He's just started as a SeeD. What is Cid thinking?"

"I don't know," Kieran began as he stood up. "But I'm about to go knock some damn sense into him."

As the man hurried off towards Cid's office, the others at the table exchanged looks with each other before hurrying after their friend to make sure that he didn't do anything stupid and to get their own answers.

"_Everyone, please follow their orders. If there are any objections, please come see me in person."_

~What is going on?~ Lurena sighed to herself. "What are you thinking, Cid?" She asked the mad that stood in front of her and Squall.

"This is your fate," Cid told them. "Squall, it is your destiny to lead the way in defeating the sorceress. And you, Lurena, I couldn't drop this on his shoulders. I know that you, of all people, will be one of the best to help him along the way."

"Don't talk about this like it's been decided since my birth!" Lurena gave a little jump as Squall's shout echoed around the room. Never had she seen him so angry. ~I don't mind fighting the sorceress~ Squall told himself, glaring at the floor. ~It's unavoidable as long as I'm a SeeD member. What? As long as I'm a SeeD member? What if I quit? Quit…then what? What do I have left?~ At that moment, an image of Lucia ran through his mind. ~What the-really?~ He shook his head again. What the hell had that happened for? ~Just stop thinking…~

Squall had sauntered off to his room again before Kieran and the others showed up at Cid's office. He didn't know what to do, what to say, so he just laid there in his bed like that morning, thinking to himself again.

~I'll just have to do as I was told…Command the Garden and kill the sorceress. How does Headmaster Cid expect me to take care of everyone? At least Lurena can help me. She'll know what to do with the Garden more than I would. She's worked here, let alone being A SeeD. She's smart too, so I know that I can trust her.~ He sighed. ~It'd be best to go fight the sorceress soon, and end this nonsense.~ At that comment to himself, Lucas was the one that shout through his mind and he frowned. ~If we're going after the Sorceress, then he'll be there too. They're after Lucia, but I don't understand why.~ The big problem here was deciding what to do. Keep Lucia close or keep her as far away as possible from the Sorceress? If he sent her away, then there was a chance they would find her anyway. If she was close, he at least would be able to protect her. Lurena and the others would help as well, no doubt. Squall gave a hard sigh. ~Just so confusing!~ He sat up and stared at the floor beneath him. ~And the sorceress is Cid's wife. He wants us to kill his wife? What does it feel like to give an order like that?~

There was a knock on his door. He glanced up at it, but didn't move.

"Squall," Lucia's voice reached him. He should have known that it was her. He went to stand. "You don't have to let me in, I'd rather you didn't." He raised a brow. "I don't think that I would be able to…" She paused. "I'm sorry," She continued. "Of all things, I know for a fact that this was the last thing that you wanted dropped on your shoulders. Cid is…I'm sure that he's in pain on the inside because Edea is his wife and you're one of the top that he trusts with this." She took a breath. "With Lurena there to help you, I know that everything will be fine, but I just wanted to let you know…to let you know that my sister isn't the only one you can trust. Kieran and Quistis and Rayna, all of the others can be trusted and helpful in this mission," Lucia told him. Then her voice got small for a moment before stronger again. "And me. I'll be here for you if you need help; with anything, Squall. All you have to do is ask. I'll be waiting for you…so…you'll find me. I promise."

Squall stared at the door for a moment before he heard the soft steps leaving his door as Lucia walked away. His mind was blank for a moment, not sure what to do, what to say, what to think. He laid back down and then tossed an arm over his eyes as Lucia's words repeated in his mind.

For some reason, it brought a large smile to his face.

"Oh, and Squall," He gave a jump at Lucia's voice again outside his door. "Just a little heads-up. Selphie and the others are trying to put together a surprise thing tonight. Please, don't leave your room. And if you do, don't let Rinoa talk you into coming, okay?"

"A surprise thing?" He repeated to her.

"Some kind of concert for you. I'm sure you wouldn't like to be there." She replied. "I can't believe she got Zell and Quistis talked into helping her play the music. It's sweet, no doubt, but I know you don't like things like that."

Squall sat up again. He could just see the young woman leaning against his door. "What are you going to do tonight?"

She gave a silent thought. "I'm not sure. I just don't feel like…going. Zell practicing with the sax though was hilarious. Selphie's not bad on the keyboard and Irvine and Quistis on the guitar and bass are pretty good." Lucia gave a sigh. "I think I'll just go in my room and…sleep or write, or something."

"You write?" Squall raised a brow.

"Is that surprising?" She gave a small laugh. "I like to sing too, but let's not get into that," He saw her shadow move from the door. "Good night, Squall. I'll see you later."

As she walked away, a force seemed to pull the young man from his bed and ripped his door open. "Wait!" He called to her. Lucia turned, her long brown hair whipping over her shoulder.

"Is something wrong?"

Squall shook his head. He didn't mean to do that. His body just…sorta moved on his own. Now he had to search his mind for a reason. It clicked pretty quick. "Would you like to go to the Training Center instead?"

"The Training Center?" She repeated in surprise.

~Stupid~ Squall hissed at himself. ~that may have been where you went last time something like this happened, but that doesn't mean she'll want to go every time. She's still a girl!~

"Sure," Lucia's answer knocked him out of his self-argument. She gave him a little smile. She took a look at the surprise on his face. "So, still surprised that a girl would rather train then dance, huh?"

Squall shook his head, giving a small smile. "I suppose so," He shut his door behind him. As he began to walk down the hall, he heard the music making the way through the Garden from outside. "You were telling the truth."

"Of course I was," Lucia smiled at him. "What, did you think I was-" She stopped immediately and shoved Squall into a door; it turned out to be a storage closet. It was pretty small so it was tight fit. Squall felt his face heat up as Lucia had to stand up against him.

"What are we-"

Lucia placed a finger over his lips. He stayed silent as a pair of feet ran past the door. Things were still for a moment again before they came back and then a few voices reached them. Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he closed his eyes until the voices were gone. Lucia gave a sigh. "That was close. We should have gone the other way around." A small grin spread across Squall's lips as she continued to talk. "As long as we're careful, we'll make it to the Training Center without any confrontations. It'll be much easier. Let's-" Lucia stopped talking for a moment as her hand dropped from his lips. She was just staring at his chest. For a moment, Squall felt uncomfortable. He watched her and his heart began to pounding his ears as her hand raised itself and…she ran a finger over his Griever Pendant. A small smile spread across her lips. "Believe it or not, this was the first thing I even noticed about you two years ago." Squall raised a brow. "I don't know why, but it just…grabbed my attention. Almost like I had seen it before somewhere, I just couldn't even place where…" Things were silent for a moment. Squall was about to raise his own hand but she pulled away at the moment and opened the door again. "So, shall we get to the Training Center or what?" She asked with a smile.

Squall stared at her for a moment as she led the way down the hall, checking around every corner. He watched her, his face still feeling hot as his heart continued to pound.

~What the hell is going on?~

**Just a little break before the more serious shit happens :D**

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